Shield and Swords
by Wrathie Winsre
Summary: He was her sword in a world filled with monsters, but there comes a time when simply cutting through wasn't an option. So she'll be his shield, a shield that would never falter, never break, and never give up. Even if she would never be compatible with the Dual Swords that she vowed to protect... Where one could measure the impact of a girl who could have lived.
1. Divergence Theory

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 1— Divergence Theory**_

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**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

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**Author's Notes: Well, here we go again. Thank you, ****_bowpurity _****for the beta.**

**I'm still working out a few elements in the story, so it might be a little difficult to accept at the start.**

**Right, a few changes to the SAO world. You do feel pain in battle, I'll introduce that slowly, anyway, Log Horizon has it in spades, but I digress.**

**A Sachi centered fic, if you have comments for me, do drop a review or two. Otherwise, just enjoy this!**

**And a big thank you to ****_bowpurity_**** again for agreeing to be my beta for this.**

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'—A beater like you didn't have any right to join us.'

The words, spoken by the leader of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, stabbed through the heart of the boy who stood in front of him. **The Black Swordsman**, the Beater, a member of the same guild, Kirito. Those words were spat at him, and it caused the boy to tremble, to shake, to feel the heavy weight, and burden of what had happened once again.

He didn't have the right to join them.

Kirito knew that, and he found himself unable to reply as Keita, the guild leader, stepped towards him.

'Why, why did you have to survive?! What about the rest, what about Ducker, Tetsuo, Sasamaru?! All of them! Why did they have to die!'

Keita asked him angrily, his voice filled with anger, despair but there was one name that was left out from his tirade of questions. The sole female member of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, Sachi.

For Sachi was still clinging onto the **Black Swordsman **like a lifesaver, her cold and white hands not even letting go despite having only a small handhold on the boy's black cloak.

She had survived thanks to Kirito defending her, taking many attacks for her in his desperate bid to save her from the mobs.

All the players were currently in Sword Art Online, the first ever VRMMORPG that was supposed to revolutionize the world of gaming and the 'Fulidive' technology. However, the creator, Kayaba Akihiko, had turned it into a deathtrap, where players would die if they 'died' in the game, when their HP read zero, and had subsequently trapped them all in the game till they managed to clear the 100th floor and defeat the boss there.

It was a hopeless situation that was made even more hopeless when it became clear that none of them could escape, and that they had to depend on themselves to get out as no external help was coming.

It was... difficult, and Sachi had at many times felt like she would be better off dead, for it was better than the alternative of fearing death, being so paralysed that she could not do anything at all.

It was Kirito who had saved her, who had listened and comforted her when she finally couldn't take the stress and ran away from their guild. She could not continue in the starting city, for if she did, she would just be reminded of the sheer hopelessness of the situation. But at the same time, if she moved forward, she would have to deal with, and overcome with the fear of dying.

She was caught between a rock and a hard place, and Sachi broke down utterly, and fled her guild, her friends who had sheltered her for so long due to her own weakness.

..

It was only in a moment of panic, the sheer fear of dying like this overwhelming her that caused her to bolt like that. Sachi hadn't ended up very far from when she bolted for she was still too afraid. She was too afraid to die, and she confessed that to Kirito who was the first to find her.

She was always, she admitted that to him, in awe of him. Of how he had been able to fight by himself, as a _solo_before he had joined them. They were in a particularly difficult fight with a group of monsters before Kirito had stepped in, and killed off the mobs who had threatened them so badly.

He was strong, so strong that Sachi hadn't imagined that she could ever reach out to him for help, but in her most vulnerable moment, he did just that. He was not untouchable after all, he too was human, and he stretched for her hand, to help her, to encourage her, and to give her hope in her weakest and most fragile moment of all.

It was then, perhaps, Sachi felt that she was saved.

And the icing on the cake was how he promised that he would save her from the game, not anyone else, but her, even when she told him that she was not worth it.

When with his strength, he could save much more, and she did not deserve to be saved by him.

But he didn't care, perhaps he did care that she said that, but when he reiterated that he would save her again, to bring them back into the real world, Sachi knew that she had fallen for him.

So even if it was embarrassing when she had knocked on the door to his room in the inn on the pretext that she was too afraid to sleep, she felt happier and more comfortable sleeping in the same room as Kirito-kun.

Her fear of dying and her fear of the world was overwhelmed by her newfound love for Kirito-kun. It was something that she didn't think was possible, to feel such a warm emotion, a desire to be with someone so strongly that her fear seemed insignificant. She felt extremely happy and at the same time, felt a little disgusted at how she felt that way. Was it really love? Or was she misinterpreting the sense of safety, and trust that had made her feel that way for Kirito-kun?

Sachi wasn't sure, for she knew that Kirito-kun was a person who would say something like that to even a stranger. It could mean absolutely nothing, or absolutely everything. But Sachi, hoped, and prayed that it was love, that she had fallen for Kirito-kun, for if it was the latter, she would never believe herself again.

For if she wasn't even allowed love, what was there left for her in this world? Even that promise itself would be a lie, for what was Sachi waiting for in the real world? She hadn't forgotten, but at that time, Sachi felt that the promise by Kirito-kun was more important than her wish to escape this world, to live, and her fear of death.

it would be nice to leave, to beat the game and to return to her family, but it was the promise that Kirito-kun would be the one to grant that wish to her was all that mattered.

..

So it really wasn't hard to imagine that she would try harder to be closer to Kirito-kun, to try and be better, to not be a burden to him by trying her best. Her friends too encouraged her but she always sought the presence of Kirito-kun when she fought, the smile he would show in acknowledgement and encouragement to her when she despatched of an enemy that made her happiest. Sachi was moving forward, slowly for sure, but it was still an accomplishment considering how she was like before.

Sachi hadn't even been surprised when she discovered that Kirito-kun was much more higher-leveled than the rest of them and she had acknowledged that happily too while keeping it from her guild mates. He must has his reason for hiding his true level, and Sachi didn't think bad of him because he did that. More so, than ever before, she started worshipping him even more for dropping to their levels to help them. Since there seemed to be nothing that he couldn't do, Sachi felt even more lucky and happy that she had been given the chance to meet him. Even if her teammates sometimes caused trouble for Kirito-kun, he would still manage to get them out of it. At the same time, Kirito-kun would also happily accept the teasing that her guildmates and friends would shower on the two of them occasionally. For she would notice the slight blush on his face when he met her eyes during those times, and she found comfort in joy that maybe, just maybe, Kirito-kun felt the same for her.

Sachi never confessed her feelings, for it didn't seem appropriate just yet. And as they progressed, it became even harder for her to express her words, for she was surer than ever that her feelings were real.

But those happy, dangerous, and most wonderful point in her life didn't last long.

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..

When Keita, the guild leader of the Black Cats of the Full Moon emphatically declared that they had successfully saved up enough money to possibly rent a building to serve as their guild house, Sachi had been extremely excited. It was becoming extremely difficult for her to actually come up with excuses to sleep in the same room as Kirito-kun, knocking on his door in the deep of night and sneaking out at the crack of dawn, for she had since outgrown her own fears long ago. Even if it might lead to the entire guild singling them out again when they were distributing rooms, it would also be a sign of their progress as a guild.

Sachi hadn't thought that they would be able to join the front-line clearers, which was the goal that was set by Keita when he established the guild, but in the month that they had worked together they had successfully increased their levels as well as their overall strength of the guild.

She had shifted to a shield and one handed sword build, mostly due to how it would balance the guild out, and under the tutelage of Kirito, had gotten better and more confident in her own abilities.

She would not buckle or run when an enemy charged her, and was more than capable of standing her ground and absorbing hits by the mobs who attacked her. It was something that was extremely terrifying at times, but it was also necessary for them if they wished to survive.

Someone has to be the tank of the team, and it was a role that ironically fell onto their frailest member. But Sachi took it in stride, for it was much easier facing something that she feared, than facing the unknown. Perhaps, she was escaping the problem altogether, by focusing on something that she could see, and feared, she would not think about the fear of death itself lurking around the corner. But Sachi felt that it was her way of coping, and it was fine the way it is.

For she was progressing right? Right.

..

It had all happened without warning when the Black Cats of the Full Moon had discovered a hidden room in a dungeon that was mapped before. Even when Kirito and her had voted against entering it, based on the virtue that they although they were higher levelled than the mobs that were in the dungeon, that did not guarantee that the monsters they met here would be the same levels, or in the same small groups that they had dealt with before. Kirito, who was much higher in level than the rest of their guild, was aware of the dangers as well as the threats that might result in exploring haphazardly. They could teleport out with their teleport crystals , yes, but was it worth the risks in the first place?

They had been outvoted by the other guild members, and had entered the hidden room, which had contained a treasure chest in the room itself.

Sachi, who had always deviated towards Kirito, sensed his unease and tensed as well, keeping to his side even though she was supposed to be in front of the whole group. When the scout of the party, Ducker, had determined that there were no monsters, and that the treasure chest was unarmed, they had all breathed a sigh of relief.

Except for Kirito-kun, he had only seemed troubled, and when his hands started fingering his sword uneasily, Sachi did the same, holding her shield ready even as her other arm clenched the teleport crystal in her hand tightly.

'Score, let's open it!'

Ducker grinned while pushing on the button that would open the chest, but when he did, the entire room was assaulted by a screeching sound and flashing of red lights. As Kirito-kun whirled around, barking commands for them to use their teleporting crystals now, Sachi's eyes widened when she saw the walls of the room lift up, revealing a swarm of mobs that charged in without hesitation.

'T-The crystaIs aren't working I"

Sachi felt her blood ran cold when Setsou cried out in shock, but by then it was too late for them to speak as the monsters charged in, hemming them inside the small room.

..

Combat was furious, as well as it was desperate. Even if most of the mobs were weaker than they were, in such a confined place, it was like fighting in a sea of blades, Sachi couldn't remember everything that had happened, as she was too busy trying to defend herself from all the attacks.

No, it was that she couldn't spare the concentration till Ducker fell after several monsters slipped their swords into his chest. As her friend disintegrated into polygons of light, and subsequently fading away, Sachi felt like everything was in slow motion, and everything was in black-and-white. Around her, her friends were fighting, and dying at the same time. Their HP bars were falling rapidly, and even as she blocked three strikes with her sword and shield, another slashed her at the back. Another moment passed and Tetsuo died, skewered as he was knocked down on the floor. Sasamaru was next, his final gambit as he dashed through a gap ended when blows rained down on his back. The look of fear that he had on his face when he turned into polygons broke Sachi's heart.

Then, it was her turn to die. Sachi prepared herself for it, but she was pulled from death's embrace due to the person who had stood by her side all this time. Kirito-kun.

The **Black Swordsman **lashed out furiously, his sword dispelling the crowd even as Sachi tried to keep up. He was dancing, a dance of desperation as well as of death, for where ever his blacksword lashed out, a stream of orange light after it, monsters died. It was only due to Kirito-kun were they able to finally escape the room of death, spilling out into the normal corridor in a confused pile of sweat, tears as well as exhaustion.

Sachi's own HP was hovering in the red zone, but Kirito-kun was even worse, for there was barely 10% left, but even as he stared at it, the HP bar was slowly replenishing itself.

It was a testament for his strength that she was still alive, and she hugged him for comfort, still in shock from what had happened even as he apologized to her repeatedly, cursing himself for his weakness while thanking the heavens for her survival.

She had never felt as cold, or as helpless as she did right now. But somehow, she felt that Kirito-kun felt even worse, so she hugged him tighter, trying to offer any help that she could give.

..

'Y-You... I'

After Keita's long rant, and Kirito-kuns silence, Sachi finally looked up to see that his guild leader had a crazed look in his eyes before he staggered a few feet backwards, dragging Kirito-kun with him. She recognized that look, it was a look that Sachi herself had a long time ago, when she had ran away, when she had lost meaning for her life. As Keita pulled the unresponsive Kirito-kun, and her forward, his eyes widened even more..

'You should have died, not them. Why don't you just DIE! Why don't you!'

His words made Sachi freeze in fear, but she suddenly knew that if she did not act now, she would regret it for life as she hugged Kirito-kun by the waist even as Keita suddenly pulled and dragged towards the ledge, and the end of that particular floor they were in.

With his bare hands, Keita pushed Kirito against the last railing at the edge of the level, making him look down at the emptiness that would surely kill him if he leapt into it. Despite the town being a safe area, this was not a punishable offence, nor did it register in the game as pushing one's boundaries for physical contact as they were both males. Boys tend to rough each other up during their meetings after all, and it was only now that the system's limits was proving to be a mistake.

Even as Keita continued to force Kirito look at the emptiness that had claimed it's own share of players, Sachi could only latch herself to Kirito, hugging him from the back and using her weight to stop Keita from pushing Kirito over. She had lost her voice, or was too afraid, or was she just crying so hard in disbelief that she could not stop Keita?

Whatever the reason, Sachi was mourning, grieving, afraid, angry, as well as panicked, all of those emotions made it hard for her to know what was going on.

And so, she missed how Keita jumped down to his death in despair. She only realized something was wrong when it was Kirito who sagged, like a puppet who had it's strings cut. The sudden loss of strength, as well as the person who had made it all but mandatory for her to hang on to Kirito-kun had disappeared, and it became _her _who was holding on to Kirito-kun as he simply laid against her.

Ordinarily, such an action would be enough to cause Sachi to turn cherry red in embarrassment, but due to the circumstances, as well as a deep feeling of dread, Sachi knew something was wrong. And as she looked up to see where Keita was, only to see that she became the guild leader instead, was all the confirmation that Sachi needed.

She wanted to throw up, to cry, to scream at the world, and she felt her stomach heave and she would have done exactly what she wanted to do if not for Kirito.

Kirito was not someone who would, for a lack of better word, give up like that so easily. The way he didn't react to her nudges, her desperate shaking even as she tried to speak, spoke volumes to Sachi.

Hadn't she gone through the same thing before? When she had lost all hope, and Kirito-kun had been the one who had pulled her up like that? Perhaps, no, it couldn't be the same. Kirito-kun was someone who was strong, who wouldn't give up that easily, and who wouldn't be crushed so easily by...

It wasn't the same was it? The event that they had went through, they had never went through anything like this. Their friends had died, and another had just taken his own life. It was perhaps only cold comfort, or perhaps it had been even worse to know that Sachi had survived. Even if they had doted and sheltered her, or perhaps it was because they had sheltered and guarded her did Keita not accept that despite all that, she could be the reason for all of them dying?

Sachi knew that it was an insidious train of thought to take, and that she had no idea, or any proof to back it up, but the thought still remained.

Had her weakness, as well as lower levels been the thing that had caused all of them to die? If she had been a better tanker? If she had been a bit more vocal about her objections, if she had just supported Kirito-kun more, would they have not died? So many what-ifs, and those what-ifs was enough to drown Sachi in her own despair if not, again, for Kirito-kun.

He needed her, and despite she wanting so desperately to break down to mourn, to cry, and to curse the world, she had Kirito-kun to help as well.

The boy who promised to help her, the boy, who promised to save her, would need her help the most now.

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..

Sachi wasn't sure if she was glad, or relieved that Keita had managed to find them on the outskirts of town, meaning that there was a lack of players who actually saw how the guild had effectively been totally destroyed from the inside out. That also meant that there was no one to see how Kirito-kun had been reduced to nothing more than a walking zombie as he had broken down after seeing what she had missed.

Keita had taken his own life, and from how Kirito-kun was still crying with his eyes still wide in shock, the constant stream of tears accompanied by numerous and random shudders of his body. Sachi knew as she was the one who was struggling along the footpath with Kirito-kun's shoulders over her shoulders. She was the one supporting him now, not the other way around, and that alone gave her the strength, courage, as well as the determination to struggle on. Even if she felt like crap, even if she wanted to break down herself, she couldn't.

Not when if she did, the two of them would eventually succumb to their own despair, and might even take the same route that Keita did. She refused to let that happen, she did not want to see that happen for she knew that only Kirito-kun could help all of them leave this world. He would be the hero who would save everyone, and that meant that he could not stop her. This... mustn't be the obstacle that would stop him, so Sachi had struggled.

Sachi would bottle up all her feelings, all of her own grief and sadness, even if it hurts, even if it might seem like she was cold-blooded for not mourning for her lost friends, but if she did not do something now.

If she did not do what was necessary now, she would join them. And that was the last thing that she wanted now, friends, or no. They had to live, they had to survive, and she would live on for them, for their sake, and for their parts as well.

Sachi, who had been relying on others for so long, for the first time, found a reason for her to stand up for herself. And if it could help Kirito-kun as well, it's even better.

..

She didn't know how she did it, nor how long it took, but Sachi finally managed to drag the two of them to their new guild house. Thankfully for her, it was located on the same floor that they were currently in, even if it was in one of the less accessible areas, making it extremely hard for Sachi to reach there with Kirito-kun.

Using the keys that she had inherited since Keita's death, Sachi swallowed hard to stop the bile from rising again even as she fumbled with the keys, her fingers shivering so much that she could barely pushed the key into the key knob.

'N-No!'

Sachi gave a soft cry of frustration as the keys slipped out of her hands and dropped onto Kirito's lap. As Sachi bent down to try and pick it up again, she came face to face with Kirito, and she could not help but grimace and to bit her lip so hard that she was drawing blood.

There was no life in Kirito-kun's eyes, and she was surer than ever that it was going to take much more to help bring him back to life. It would be something drastic, and it must be done soon, or else there would be no turning back. The sense of urgency, as well as the fear for Kirito gave Sachi strength again, and this time, she was able to unlock and push open the door without any mishap.

'L-Let's go in, Kirito-kun.'

Sachi tried to sound strong, but her voice still trembled as she helped Kirito-kun up again, this time no longer struggling as much as she did before as she staggered into the small building. It was altogether too small, and too big for the two of them. It was of course, a place that was supposed to be filled with happiness, of hope, signifying the next stage for their journey in SAO. Instead it was just a very harsh and morbid reminder of how they were now officially alone. And their guild house, will forever reflect and remind them that there were supposed to be more of them, people who had been a part of their family before they were taken cruelly from them.

It made Sachi hate Kayaba Akihiko just a little bit more as she reached the couch, before unceremoniously dumping Kirito-kun onto it. Sachi was tired, she had half-carried and half-supported the boy all the way here after all. However, Sachi knew that this was just the beginning of her and Kirito-kun's ordeal. She couldn't rest now, and telling herself that, Sachi staggered to her feet again, this time managing to run a hand through Kirito-kun's before she tore her eyes from how bad Kirito-kun looked. He really looked devoid of a soul, and despite herself, Sachi started sobbing as she reached blindly for Kirito-kun's hands.

His hands were cold, too cold to be human, and when Sachi did finally held his, interlacing their fingers together, she felt a sense of hope reignite in her heart when Kirito-kun did react just a little to her touch.

'Kirito-kun... please... y-you're stronger than that... Please, at least say something to me, anything, Kirito-kun!'

Sachi sobbed even as she closed her eyes, squeezing the tears that had been forming at the corner of her eyes even as Kirito remained silent.

Was he giving up like that? Did he not want to live any more? Even if Sachi felt that she could understand what he felt, it was her friends who had died after all, and even if it what Keita had said was indeed more hurtful, and painful, and directed at Kirito-kun, he was _Kirito-kun_, the person that Sachi worshipped. He... she believed he would be stronger than that.

'D-Didn't you promise me, K-Kirito-kun? T-That... that we would surely defeat this game? T-That you would save me...? Kirito-kun, a-are, you going to break that promise?'

Sachi pleaded, and even if after a while, and to her delight, Kirito did react to her words, he was still far too lost to even contemplate what that meant for Sachi.

It was that promise Kirito-kun had made to her that had kept her from despair, it had been like a collar, a restrain, a ray of hope for her when he declared it to her. So... why didn't Kirito-kun react to it more? Did it hold no meaning to him any more? Did he not believe in it now? That was not true, Sachi wouldn't believe it, for Kirito-kun did react to her words, and her promise, so it obviously did hold value to him.

But perhaps, it wasn't enough to break him out of his own despair.

'K-Kirito-kun...'

Sachi gave her own cry of despair, but as she shifted, and her hands relaxed their grip on Kirito's hands, his hands twitched and strengthened their hold on hers instead.

Kirito-kun didn't want her to leave, he didn't want more people to leave him again.

'I-Is that.. w-what you are thinking about, K-Kirito-kun?'

Sachi felt another warm develop inside her, and even if she knew that it was a confusing situation, a situation so severe that all of them were not thinking straight, Sachi believed she found a way to bring Kirito-kun back from his own despair.

It was dangerous, and she didn't know if it'll work... but, she had to try.

She had to make Kirito-kun act of his own free will, and not forced. She needs him to know that she needs him, but that he needs her too. It's as simple as that.

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**Author's Notes: As usual, R&R if you like it. I hope to continue it, but we'll see how it goes! **


	2. Holding a Shield

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 2— Holding a Shield**_

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**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

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**Author's Notes: So I'm writing more! Thank you, ****_bowpurity _****for the beta-edit.**

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..

It was originally nothing but a promise, an agreement that was made between two parties. And a promise was weird like that as each party might view the promise in a different light.

In this case, Sachi viewed the promise that Kirito made to her as something that she had pinned all her hopes on, the promise was why she was able to become stronger than before, it was a promise that was pulling her from the brink for despair.

As for Kirito, the promise was his certainty for the future, he knew that the 'promise' he made was one that would happen with so much certainty that the promise to him was nothing special at all.

But it was undisputed that the two different views of the promises were linked to each other, and they fed off each other. The two of them would have to work together, grow together, depend on each other, and if that link continued, their continued goals will be closer within their grasps.

For Sachi depended on Kirito's faith to save her, and even if Kirito only believed in himself, he would push himself for he knew that Sachi depended on him. So what if it was an indirect link between Kirito and the promise he made with her, the two of them were still interconnected.

Talk about believing in the person that the other believed in indeed! For Sachi believed in the Sachi that Kirito believed in, and thus she was able to work harder for his sake. And Kirito motivated himself to match up to the Kirito that Sachi believed in, making him work harder, and with higher goals than before.

So, the two of them believed in each other's promises, without any question or loss of faith. That was the extent and strength of their bond... so what if something about it changed?

What if, in order to fulfill the promise, Kirito had to save Sachi? Sachi, who had been the indirect motivator for Kirito to work harder, would become the direct reason for Kirito to wake up right now.

That was what Sachi thought of before she sent a private message to the one person she could depend on now, Argo the Rat.

* * *

..

Argo the _Ra_t smiled cheerfully as she pushed open the door of the guild house. She hadn't even been aware that the Black Cats of the Full Moon had a guild house, actually she was quite surprised that Kirito even joined a guild in the first place, but SAO had always been full of surprises. But yes, having a guild house was a minor achievement for the guild as well, and Argo felt that celebrations were in order. Especially since it was Sachi who had asked her for help. it also made her feel happy that the shy girl was finally going to take up her offer of help, Argo did like being trusted after all. It was just a coincidence that it would also lead up to more sales for her rumour mill... but that's besides the point.

All in all, the whiskered information seller was in a good mood as she looked around at the place. The guild house was a fixer-upper, there were dust everywhere, the furniture was in disarray and well, it was quite simply a mess. But she was sure that they would be able to do something about it, the Black Cats of the Full Moon were quite a lively bunch after all, and she was certain that they would be able to break the solitude that Kirito himself had developed in the game as well as the beta.

Argo didn't quite approve of how he kept his identity and true level from the guild-members, but she understood in a way as to why he would want to do that.

He was a _Beater _after all, and the **Black Swordsman**to the _clearers_ was a presence to be feared, hated as well as awed. Argo herself wasn't that surprised, he had been just as awe-inspiring in the beta as well, so seeing him in the same dominating position at the top was really, to be expected.

The Wild Card to her was the leader of the Knights of the Blood, Heathcliff, who had appeared out of nowhere just recently with his superior skills with his shield. Argo felt that something was off about him, but wasn't able to place a finger on exactly what was actually wrong with him.

'You know Sachi-chan, when you told me that yo-'

..

Argo's smile was wiped off her face when she pushed open a door where she heard voices in it. In the few interactions that she had with them, it was plain to see that Sachi had feelings for the dense Kirito. Well, in this case Argo wondered if Kirito was truly dense or was avoiding the issue altogether. If it's the latter, Argo couldn't help but approve of their interaction, even if it had came at a cost for herself.

What greeted Argo however, was the sight of Sachi kneeling in front of Kirito, himself lying stiffly on the couch with a blanket placed over him. That would be quite normal, Kirito was prone to 'nap-attacks' episodes where he just simply, flopped and be in deep sleep. Argo had even caught him sleeping once while standing up, but this was different, as Sachi wore a face that Argo had only seen on Kirito once before, where he had been called a _beater_shortly after the boss fight of the first floor. Her eyes were hard, signs that she had bit herself in worry, Sachi's tense and straight posture just made the scene more surreal to Argo. This wasn't the shy and timid girl that she knew at all, and that itself made Argo worry, for this new change in her personality was definitely due to a traumatic event.

Even if Argo might admire Sachi more about how she was willing to abandon her fear like that, she wasn't sure if Sachi was forced to make that decision, made that decision herself, or had just resorted to this without knowing the implications. If Sachi had decided on this route because she had became unhinged and desperate, Argo had to stop her right now. Nothing good would come out of it.

Sachi was in pain, and was in crossroads about something, no doubt about Kirito, and Argo rushed over to rest a hand on her shoulder.

'Sachi, Sachi-chan, tell me, what happened,'

Argo was no fool, there was no denying that something happened, but she needed information to help her, if she could help at all.

'Please, take care of Kirito-kun for me, Argo-san.'

Sachi muttered softly even as she slowly got up from her kneeling position. The tone of her voice made Argo hesitate, for it seemed that Sachi's mind was made up. At the same time, Argo was disturbed to hear that Sachi's voice had gone even softer. Sachi had always been quiet, never raising her voice, and despite her presence never been missed in the group that she interacted with, it was never quite there as well.

Argo had to strain to catch Sachi's words, and she was unable to stop Sachi from moving away from the couch and where Kirito was.

..

'W-Wait, where are you going, Sachi? You can't leave him like this!'

It took only one look for Argo to know that Kirito had simply cried himself to sleep, or something similar. He was mumbling in his sleep, twitching, flinching, and shuddering while tears periodically formed in his eyes as he moaned out softly as well. He was having nightmares, and it made Argo feel pain and panic at seeing the unflappable and strong Kirito in this state.

Sachi never responded to her question directly, instead she just stood there impassively, looking at Kirito for a while before turning to look at Argo again. So she had asked her to help take care of him, true, but was this really what she wanted?

'You want me to take care of Kirito, Sachi? Then where are you going, why can't you take care of him now, Sachi? Kirito... He needs you now, you know that.'

it wasn't that Argo wanted to push the responsibility away, but she knew that she was right too when she asked her that. This wasn't about who was suited for the job, it was about who needed to be with him now. Kirito never allowed anyone near to him if he could help it, and since he allowed Sachi that, it was best if she was the one who stayed by his side to nurse him back to health.

'Besides, I don't know what's going on at all. You should be the one to stay with him, please, Sachi.'

Argo gave her a reassuring smile, but she frowned when Sachi shook her head.

'... You could find out, Argo-san. And... I have something else that I need to do now. Something... only I can do, for Kirito-kun. But... I need to prepare for it. I need... Kirito-kun to come after me. So please, won't you please look after him?'

Well, that was certainly true, she was the information dealer after all and there was nothing that she couldn't find out if she wanted to, but really, was this the time?

'Must you go now? Is this the... right time, Sachi?'

Argo asked again, losing to Sachi's hard and impassive stare as she sighed. She didn't quite mind, Sachi had a point as well, it wasn't just Sachi that Kirito opened up to, it was her too, and Sachi knew that. That was probably why Sachi called for her help. Even if it might be harder than she expected, and there was potentially a landmine here for her to discover, Argo found herself hesitating.

'Yes, only I can do this. I have to do this. If Kirito-kun doesn't... he will never get up again.'

..

Those words made Argo give a wry grin, it was like a love confession, a twisted one at that, and it could so mean a lot of things if Argo was able to record it. Still, the severity of the situation meant that Argo shouldn't joke about this,

'You're really determined to do this, aren't you, Sachi? I don't know what you are planning... but it would be dangerous for you and Kii-bou.'

Argo asked after a moment had passed, the time spent to evaluate Sachi's own resolve. She was both satisfied as well as worried that Sachi had not budged, nor did she show any indicator that she was hesitating or reconsidering at all. Whatever Sachi had in mind, had already been set in stone, and since it was her decision, Argo couldn't talk her out of it.

'Well, it's going to cost you. My services are never for free, I know I promised to waive one offer of service for you, but in this case it's going to be a little more expensive than usual.'

Argo gave a devious grin back, but it was Sachi who made Argo stumble again as she nodded, before holding out a key to her.

'What's... this?'

As Argo took the key from Sachi, she frowned before giving a grimace at the item's description.

'The house to the guild house... are you...'

Argo frowned at the key, but she wasn't letting go of it either. It was a vexing and complicating situation that made Argo unsure of Sachi's intentions. This was definitely not what she would expect from the shy girl who used to like hiding behind their guild member's back, that was for sure.

'Would you join our guild, Argo-san? Kirito-kun needs help right now, and you are the only person that I can trust.'

Sachi paused in her speech to bow to Argo slowly, keeping her head down and kept it there, and would probably continue to keep it there if not for Argo starting to laugh helplessly. She knew that it was not the right time to do that, and she felt bad doing it, but the sheer audacity and bluntness that Sachi displayed now in probably desperation was enough to tickle her funny bone, as well as to make her aware of how desperate she was.

'... Ahaha... Fine... I'll accept that as payment... never say that Argo the Rat doesn't honor her promises.' Argo pocketed the key even as she accepted the Guild Invitation from Sachi.

'Then, Kirito-kun would be in your care, Argo-san.'

That was the last time Argo would see Sachi for a while, her hands gripping on to herself in worry as Sachi equipped herself in the biggest room of the guild house. Finally Putting on her gloves, Sachi gripped onto her shield tightly before bowing to Argo again and leaving the guild house for her important task.

Argo did not foresee that would be the beginning of another tale, the tale of a shy and timid girl, who was forced to change herself completely in her desperation to save someone else.

* * *

..

'Who would have thought it was Kii-bou and Sachi-chan.'

Argo winced even as she pressed a cold press on Kirito's forehead. The boy was sweating profusely, perhaps a fever? Or perhaps it was her own mental illnesses that was causing him to be sick. She had been up for the entire night now and Kirito still didn't look peaceful.

True to her title as the Rat as well as the information dealer, Argo had asked her contacts, a wide multitude of them to look for any news regarding Sachi and Kirito's predicament.

It wasn't hard for her to find out that the entire guild, save for the two of them had died, the exact details weren't that clear but it still made Argo wince anyway.

Anyone would be traumatic after that incident, survivor's guilt was something that she had seen more than her share of people who had experienced it. But like most of the players, after six months, everyone had pushed those dark thoughts to the back of their mind.

Humans were the best at adapting after all, they had to, or else they couldn't survive. Argo also knew that Kirito was also a victim of survivor's guilt, only in a much more deeper scale for he never confronted it, choosing to bury it deep inside him and holding it inside him while ignoring it at the same time.

He had held up considerably well, and Argo had hoped that Sachi would be able to help him pass the problem when he had introduced him to the Black Cats of the Full Moon.

It was her guild now too, come to think of it, and although it sounded silly that an information broker was part of a guild, it does give her some benefits, like a bigger inventory store for her rarer equipment trades as well as a point of contact for her clients to actually find her.

Argo knew that this deal was a very bad one for her, but Sachi and Kirito's predicament had compelled her to accept it. It wasn't the best trade, it was a horrible trade, but Argo also understood that Sachi had no one to turn to. She hardly knew anyone besides her own guildmates as well as the friends that Kirito had introduced them to, probably only Klein and Agil besides her.

So she was the only choice. Klein might offer help, no, he would offer help but due to Kirito's stubborn pride, Sachi couldn't consider it. Agil might be a good choice, he was certainly caring and yet discreet enough for Kirito to depend on him more than others, but at the same time, Argo also accepted the fact that it was really hard for Sachi to approach Agil as well. He was a big softie at heart, but he did look intimidating.

..

But again, it all came back to the rumors that had came back since she had done some digging. There was a sighting of an individual half dragging and half carrying another into the woods. The rumor was that it was a new quest about an abducted NPC, or perhaps it was one of those kidnapping cases that had died down after the Army took care of it.

It was totally blown out of scale, but in the heart of every rumour, there was a grain of truth in it. Like the saying, there's no smoke without fire. What didn't made Argo smile this time was how it seemed to say too much, for too little. Whatever happened to them, it wasn't enough for them to lose their guild members in the dungeon, it was enough to render them incapable of doing anything but to try and rely on each other for comfort and help. There was more than enough teleport crystals in the guild's store, and that meant that...

'They couldn't get away from what had attacked them.'

Argo sighed as she sank down to sit on the cold floor, biting a finger furiously even as she looked up to see Kirito wincing again, another bad dream causing him extreme discomfort before she started wiping his sweat soaked face again.

'Kii-bou... just what happened, really?'

Argo asked softly before resting her head on the couch, reaching for his hand and settled down to look after him, just as how she had promised Sachi.

* * *

..

It hurt, it really hurt, and the sounds of the wolves snarling and yipping at her did nothing to distract her from the slight pain that she felt as they tore into her.

But all of it was lost on Sachi as she continued to engage the pack of wolves that she had lured and aggravated for about half an hour now. It wasn't a simple mob of wolves, it was at least a combination of 6 packs, meaning a total of thirty individual wolves were trying to attack her together.

And yet, they were unable to truly pose a threat to her, if the indicator on her HP bar was true. She was taking her share of damage, yes, and although it didn't hurt as much as it should, the fear of being attacked in such a fashion was terrifying enough.

For Sachi, who had always feared dying, and was unsuitable for the role of a tank, it was like a nightmare come true.

But even that did not stop her, for she had seen even more terrifying things, like having her friends cut down in front of her.

It did tear at her heart every time she thought of it, and it was like she felt a part of her die inside. But Sachi couldn't stop now, not when she had to be get stronger, when she had to push her limits as much as she could now before she placed her life on the line for Kirito-kun. If Kirito-kun didn't come for her, at least... she had a fighting chance to make it out alive.

Those morbid thoughts made her footsteps even heavier, and she ignored the wolves that leapt towards her again in lieu of more important things.

She had to be strong, Sachi knew that, and she had to face her fear, and this reason alone brought her to the first level, and to the low-leveled wolves that would not pose a threat to her. Their constant attacks may only stung, but what couldn't be replicated was the sounds, the smell as well as the image of those monsters attack her relentlessly. She had frozen up when she saw the huge group of monsters attack them, and Sachi knew that was the first obstacle to overcome if she wanted Kirito-kun and her to face their fears. The wolves always came in packs, in larger mounts and even respawned quickly, making it a good place for her to at least mentally prepare for what she would be facing again. It also had the additional benefit of being able to train her own skills, _Guard_ and _Parry_ were indispensable for a tank, and lastly... she needed experience in fighting large groups like this.

Nothing could ever beat real, first-hand experience after all.

..

Sachi had to make Kirito-kun come after her, she had to make him understand that if he truly wished to fulfil their promise, he would have to save her, because her life already belonged to him. She was saved by him, and she would not let him forget that. If he gave up and subsequently died, the Black Cats of the Full Moon would die with him. He had always been Sachi's hope, and that by itself was something that was more than a burden, it was a sign of hope and belief for them. He had to understand that, he just HAD to!

Her friends might had died because of many reasons, she was at fault, so was Kirito-kun, but this didn't mean that they should just give up. She was sad and devastated that her friends were lost, they were dead, and they... they had so many things that they wanted to do, but now they couldn't accomplish them because of what they had experienced.

Because, Sachi didn't want it to end like that, not because Kirito-kun gave up just like that as it would mean that their friend's sacrifice and lost were in vain. Maybe it had, but Sachi didn't want it to truly end like that. Her friends had always encouraged her, and in their deaths, Sachi knew that was truer than ever. Her friends, they died, but they definitely still lived. So, she couldn't give up, not when they would surely, want to encourage her to go on. To live, and to escape.

..

Why had she survived and they hadn't? The answer was because of Kirito-kun, he had saved her and she had been a burden. Just because Kirito-kun was stronger, meant that he shouldered more of the blame and that was something Sachi couldn't accept, for that weight had already crushed him, and would continue to haunt him for a long time seeing how affected he was.

But Sachi also knew that they, or he, couldn't afford the time for him to recover. When the Black Cats of the Full Moon left the first floor, she had seen first-hand how different the second, and the subsequent floors were from the first.

The first floor was terrible, it being the place where the players who had given up hope and had despaired were all gathering in. They continued to pray it was a nightmare and was too terrified to leave, or to take even more risks by leaving and pushing themselves.

Sachi still had nightmares about the place at times, remembering that she had been one of them, and could have lost to SAO if not for her friends and Kirito-kun.

She would rather die than allow Kirito-kun to end up be in the same state as those people, for he was better than that, he had the potential to be much stronger, Sachi knew it.

That was why she was here, training herself, steeling herself for what she would have to do. The wolves in the first floor was the easiest monsters that could swarm and mob her while still remaining safe. Sachi feared death, everyone did, but she also knew that she truly did not have the will, nor the determination to live in this world if not for her friends.

She had lost to Sword Art Online, she would definitely be killed if left alone, not because she was weak, but because she would crumble in front of death and not struggle against it. Her heart had given up, and she knew that despite her best efforts, she was prepared to die at any moment.

A person who was prepared to go, would be the first to fall, as they wouldn't struggle. They wouldn't fight for that 1% chance of survival, they would simply accept it. And that, was what Sachi must change first. For if she didn't, she'll forever be a burden to Kirito-kun, and would cause him more pain if she fell. For if there was one thing Sachi didn't want to, it's to cause Kirito-kun pain.

'…'

..

Sachi remembered the crystal that she had prepared for Kirito-kun that was stored in their shared inventory window, and she gave a small bitter smile in what she recorded there.

It was true, she wanted to know why they met, and it was more importantly, to help Kirito-kun. But she was done being timid, she would never forgive herself if she couldn't tell Kirito-kun this by herself, face to face.

She would fight to remind Kirito-kun of his promise, of what he could do, and even if she had to steel her heart to do so, then so be it.

Sachi raised the shield that she was holding to block the attacks from the wolves, parrying and blocking, Sachi started to tear into the pack with her sword at well. Even if they outnumbered her, the damage they dealt was quite low due to her being at least 20 levels above them. But it still hurt, and they did chip at her HP as they attacked. It was exactly the way her friends had died, outnumbered, outgunned, and facing foes that would not quit no matter what happened to them.

Even as one fell, two came to take it's place, and they would never quit, for they were programs, machines, inventions created to attack and kill them, the players. Sachi was mad at them for killing her friends, but they simply could not understand what they were doing. They were simply following instructions given to them, and even if it was cold comfort, Sachi could start to understand why Kirito could kill the humanoid monsters so easily now, and why he placed so much blame on himself.

For it wasn't the monsters fault that they died, it was the players themselves.

..

'No more... never.. again.'

Sachi mumbled to herself even as her reaction time got better this time, her shield raising up to block an attack on her left and then sweeping back to take out another on the right. Her eyes narrowed, and despite her ever decreasing HP bar, Sachi's sword started swinging as well, cutting down the wolves as they disintegrated into polygons in front of her eyes. Each one that she cut, was another one that would appear till they clear this Death Game. Each one that she destroyed was another step towards that goal and promise that Kirito-kun promised. Each damage that she received was one step closer to the reality of her death. And so Sachi swung hard, desperately, and deliberately into the mob, encouraging more to attack her, more to remind her, and more to steel her.

For she didn't want to see anyone go through the same thing she did, that Kirito-kun did, to bemoan their weakness, their inability to save their friends. Never again, she promised herself as instead of blocking the next attack, Sachi flung her shield forward viciously, knocking the wolf back before it disintegrated into polygons as well. Her vicious act even caused the wolves to pause for a moment as Sachi screamed into the night, provoking and terrifying the wolves as she changed her stance, gripping her sword tightly in one arm even as her shield was held firmer, closer to her.

'Kirito-kun... won't you save me?'

Sachi looked up and asked sadly even as the wolves surrounded her again, ready to end the life of another adventurer. As Sachi's sword and shield flashed in the darkness of the night, so did the numbness in her own heart.

* * *

**Author's Notes: R&R, it'll be nice!**


	3. People Around Them

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 3— People Around them**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta. I'm progressing slowly, but do tell me your comments for this. Thank you!**

* * *

..

The second day for Argo the Rat was just as nerve-wrecking as the first, for despite her best efforts, Kirito had not woken up at all. Yes, she had fallen asleep after constantly staring at his pretty cute face for several hours non-stop and had enjoyed waking up to the sight of his sleeping face.

For when Kirito wasn't twitching or fidgeting in his nightmares, he does have a very adorable sleeping face. A fact that had escaped Argo but had no doubt been monopolized by Sachi. This deal was looking sweeter than ever before for it might be a good source of income if she could get more photos.

Unfortunately, other than those two events happening, Argo was no closer to finding out what had happened to the Black Cat of the Full Moon besides knowing that their leader, Keita, had been spotted purchasing this property by himself earlier in the day.

That didn't make sense, for it would have meant that Keita should have survived whatever they the rest had met with, and his cuse of death hadn't quite tallied with the rest. 'Falling from great height?' That was... Argo didn't want to think about it for too long, for it was too ominous. The mysteries had only deepened, and Argo groaned as she felt pins and needles on her legs after sitting on them for so long without moving.

'Good morning, Kii-bou.'

Argo yawned as she stretched, kicking her legs out below the couch before getting to her feet. Reaching closer, Argo brushed a hand on his cheek, to see him squirming slightly and mumbling.

'Hmm...? Kii-bou?'

Argo frowned as she knelt down to listen to his mumbling, only for her to recoil as she heard him apologizing even while sleep-talking. Barely visible tears were forming in his eyes, and it took everything Argo had to not hug him right now. But she still did it in the end anyway, for the soft whimpering that Kirito gave out was just too painful and pitiful for her to bear. He needed help, and comfort, and that was exactly what Sachi had asked her to do, right?

To take care of him would be to comfort him too, right?

Even as Argo wrapped her hands around him, hugging him tightly and feeling him relax just a little, Argo blushed. For he had unconsciously started to hug her back too, sniffling as he did so, and to her embarrassment, he started to cuddle against her as well.

'K-Kii-bou... it tickles! S-Stop!'

Argo weakly protested as his grip on her tightened while she tried to wriggle out of her grip. She wasn't putting too much of a struggle because it was Kirito even though it was wrong. Or because it was Kirito did she feel that it was okay, even just a little.

'Kii-bou...'

But eventually, Kirito stopped, his cries for forgiveness gone as he held on to Argo softly, his head resting on her stomach as Argo looked down on the sleeping boy who had been broken by the weight he had carried for so long.

'... Gosh darn it, Kii-bou... You're really broken now...'

Argo gave a sad and pained smile as she started stroking his hair, praying for some hint about what had happened last night.

* * *

..

It was an endless cycle, block and slash, if possible, parry. Sachi knew of the basics of a tank character, Kirito had briefed her about what the characteristics of a good tank were.

They had to be in the front lines, to take damage, and to get attention from the monsters even as their more powerful members of the parties attacked them. They were not just supposed to draw attention, but was supposed to keep them occupied at all times. She would have to trust in her team mates as well as to read the movements of her enemy to ensure that her friends were not attacked while they dealt damage to their foes. It was a nerve-wrecking experience, and partly because she had to face terrifying monsters, and the constant threat of her own health dropping away was why Sachi had not been suited for it.

She was afraid of death after all, and it was something that she thought she couldn't overcome until now.

After an entire night of fighting with the wolves and using her shield to defend herself, relying only on herself to stop their attacks, Sachi had definitely came a long way from being afraid.

She couldn't depend on her friends, and she couldn't run away from the monsters due to how she was surrounded. So she had to fight, she had to learn as her life was on the line here.

To make it doubly sure, she had only limited supplies, the potions that she carried were just sufficient to recover her HP to max once, doubling the risks. It was, suicidal, only not really, for it would take the wolves quite a while to kill her even if she just sat down to be attacked. But the steep learning curve was what she was after, and if she couldn't deal with such weak mobs, she could never be strong.

Another important role of a tank, or rather, the prerequisite to be a tank in the front-lines was to remain calm even in the midst of combat. Everything could change in a split second, Kirito-kun had stressed that to her one night as she had asked for advise at being a forward. It could vary from the monsters suddenly changing attack patterns, to changing shapes or even to switch to another weapon. They have to be constantly keeping track of the monsters, to not back away at the sign of danger for it would be misplacing the trust their team-mates had for her if she faltered and allowed the monsters to break through the first defensive line that was her.

In a game like SAO, where death was permanent, it was a deadly and rookie mistake, something that Sachi had tried to deal with at first by locking her knees together and trying not to run.

Now however, she was able to meet the wolves in the eye, to even bat them back without hesitation if needed be with her shield. In a life and death game, it was important to know what was courage, and what was one's personal limit, in that regards, Sachi was terribly lacking as her HP had hovered in the red area for more than a quarter of the entire night as she struggled to survive as well as to train.

..

Briefly pausing to don her new equipment that she had gotten from the mini-boss that she hadn't even thought she could win against, Sachi closed her eyes briefly in her kneeling position on the ground. As she rested, Sachi was aware of the beads of sweat that dropped in a circle on the ground, before realizing that it wasn't sweat. It was tears.

She was crying, mourning perhaps, but she could only feel numbness in her heart, around her chest. It hurt, the throbbing pain made it hard for her to keep her composure, and more importantly, she felt tired.

Tired beyond belief, and Sachi threw caution to the wind as she flopped face first onto the dirt before closing her eyes to rest.

She hadn't given up, this wasn't the time for her to die... but the tears kept falling, keep streaking her dirt smeared face as she sobbed weakly to herself.

'I-I'm so sorry...'

Sachi whispered to herself, to her lost friends, and to her lost innocence as she experienced what it was like to truly fight in Sword Art Online. Could she had made a difference if she tried it earlier? Would her friends had been able to survive if she had mustered her courage to be a forward like this earlier?

All those questions hammered inside her head as she closed her eyes, not getting the rest that she needed.

The tears kept flowing, and her questions were never answered. Not even when after a long time, a time that seemed like ages, Sachi got up and wiped her tears dry. She wouldn't know, she could never know. That's why they were called regrets, and they were unlike the wounds that she had been inflicted on before, where they would heal and disappear from her body over time.

* * *

..

'Kii-bou...'

Argo sighed softly as she finally managed to disentangle herself from the boy who had sought comfort instinctively. It was very jarring to see someone as strong as he was latching onto her for comfort. Even if it was embarrassing, and even if it made her cheeks feel flushed, Argo couldn't help but feel... well, helpless.

As she pushed the top of her cloak down behind her neck and shoulders, Argo fanned herself to cool herself down even as she moved to open the windows.

It was the start of another day, her first day in a Guild, and her first day with Kirito-kun for a while.

'I should check on Sachi.'

They were all in the same guild after all, and Argo could check where she was in Aincrad by checking onto the the Guild status. Opening up the guild page, Argo clicked on it absentmindedly and gave a small whistle at how high levelled Kirito was despite leaving the front-lines for a while. Argo wasn't a solo player, but she didn't really train a lot either. And even if she had been at a higher level than most of the guild members at the start, they had caught up with her. Kirito though, was on a different scale, he was still hovering at a level or two higher than most of the _clearers_, with the exception of the leaders of the guilds that were at the front-lines. This was impressive, considering that he hadn't really trained much during his one, two months stay with the guild.

It was testament to Kirito's knowledge and ability to train the guild as they were perhaps, 5 levels below the front-lines in just a short two months. It was quite a ferocious pace, but what made Argo frown was how Sachi still lagged below the greyed-out levels of the fallen guild members.

She expected Sachi to be much lower than the rest, what with her apprehensiveness in battle, but she was only a level or two above the next lowest member. And from how Sachi's HP was in the red, and was constantly treading the line of red and yellow, increasing and decreasing constantly, Sachi was still training.

Did she leave Kirito-kun's side to train? Argo felt very disappointed in her if that was true, and Argo had the mindset to tell her off as she started composing a private message to her when she stopped again, this time staring at the display status of Sachi's page.

She was at level 5 of Aincrad, which was a safe level considering they were currently around in the 30s, but that doesn't reflect the danger that Sachi was in at the moment.

She was currently in the hidden dungeon of level 5, the Ant Colony, a place that even middle- levelled parties hesitate to enter without preparation. It was a dangerous place, not because of the monsters level, but the number and spawn rate of the monsters were just insane. Without preparation, people died there, and it was almost never fully mapped, what with all the potential hidden rooms.

'Get the hell out of there, you idiot! You'll die!'

Argo growled in frustration as she furiously typed and sent her message, giving a side-long glance to Kirito who shifted in his sleep after she was done. Argo considered waking him up, but for some reason she hesitated, and then in the next, looked extremely guilty before the customary ping of a message being sent to her flashed in front of her.

'S-Sachi...'

'_Don't worry, i__t doesn't hurt as much any more. Take care of him. Is he awake? Tell me if he's awake please. - Sachi'_

Was her reply, and it made Argo grit her teeth in frustration as she was torn between a rock and a hard place before remembering someone she could rely on in this time of need.

'Damnit Sachi, you're owing me big for this! The downpayment of the guild house isn't going to cover all your extra costs!'

Argo grumbled even as she expertly flicked the contacts list that she had, scrolling down to the person she was looking for that she was sure could cash on the favor as she contacted the person.

'Oi, wake up! Now's not the time for napping! You up for a quest? Too bad, you have to take the quest, or Kii-bou won't ever forgive you. Now get moving, dimwit! I'll send the coordinates to you now!'

* * *

..

Deep in the forest, hidden underground within a hidden dungeon was an entire colony of ant monsters that would swarm any party that tried to reach the Ant Queen. It was a hidden dungeon that was only discovered recently by activating a quest by NPCs in the same level. What was different about this dungeon were that the monsters that were spawned here were consistent with monsters of the 10th floor, and not the 5th. Even so, this was Sachi's first time entering this hidden dungeon.

The ant queen had only been defeated by the strongest guilds due to the tendency of the mobs overwhelming the weaker players when they challenged it, and it being a one way road too. One had to fight their way in, and out, and it was also the first place discovered that nullified Teleport crystals. They could still use healing crystals of course, but that was cold comfort to the players when one considered how large the maze was.

Sachi had spent some money obtaining the map of the dungeon from a member of the Army, who looked at her curiously due to the unique equipment that she had picked up from the hidden mini-boss, the Feral Pelt, which was basically the skinned pelt of the were-wolf mini-boss itself.

Sachi had encountered it in the middle of the night after hearing a ferocious howl that shook and scattered the remaining wolf mobs that she had gathered. She wasn't causing a commotion at the level due to how late it was, and well, she was deep into the plains of the first floor anyway. But it still came as a rude shock to her how large the Lycanthrope Were-wolf was as it leapt in front of her, brandishing it's claws while snapping it's fangs.

Sachi couldn't recall the name of the Mini-boss as it was on her in a heartbeat, raising it's claws to slash at her without hesitation. The battle between her and the mini-boss was also marked with how the remaining wolves had gathered to attack her simultaneously as well. It was... a very horrible, and terrible fight, for at many times, Sachi felt that she was surely going to die, only for her to rebel against her fate to block the next potentially incapacitating blow. She wasn't really in danger, not after her first few slip-ups that had revealed that the mini-boss was only dealing about three times the normal wolves was, but against her higher level, it was still manageable.

What made Sachi upset was how despite all her efforts, she could still make such mistakes against the weaker monsters.

She should not be cowed, she should be ready for the unexpected, she should not falter... SHE SHOULD NOT BACK DOWN!

When it was all over, and with Sachi's sword stabbed between the eyes of the Were-wolf, Sachi found herself staring at the dying eyes of the Were-wolf as it changed to a human boy, an NPC no doubt, who looked at her before thanking her, shattering into thousands of polygonal bits as he did so.

..

The Feral Pelt was a cloak, that when worn, made her look like a feral child that had just came back from a hunt, having skinned and was wearing the latest trophy from her hunting trip, hence the name. Sachi had never seen an equipment like this before, and as such, told herself to get it evaluated by Argo when she returned later on.

Taking a deep breath, Sachi entered the dungeon alone, brandishing a new sword and shield, with multiple copies of it inside her inventory as she walked purposefully into the dungeon. Life-and-death battles were the best way to get stronger, or so she thought. The place also reminded her of the dungeon that her friends had died in as well, only the ant monsters that approached her did not bore the same look, they still rushed at her with the same intent.

She had to be strong, and so she steeled herself even as she brought her shield up to block the first attack from the gathering mob of monsters.

* * *

..

Klein, the red-blooded as well as red-clothed swordsman sighed to himself while scratching his head. It had been a great day, a good morning where he was supposed to sleep in before being called by the information dealer, Argo.

Everyone in the cleaner group knew of Argo, she was the best at information gathering, and her intelligence had helped them discover many incredible areas for either levelling, or helped them get through the boss fights with her reports on new rumours and conversations with NPCs.

Argo, the _Rat_ was also able to get any information, if it was available, for a price. Because of that, it was always Argo who was sought out, and she never handed out requests to others.

This was definitely a first and when she said that it was on behalf of Kirito, Klein could not ignore it. Kirito was a _beta_ who had saved his life when he had taught him the ropes and had always beaten himself up for abandoning him at the start of the Death Game.

Klein did feel a little upset at the start, but more than that, he could tell that Kirito was more affected by it than he was and had subsequently forgiven him. Not that there was anything to forgive about, it was human nature after all, and Klein felt that he had made the right choice. For if Kirito had persisted, or if he had went with and helped them, things might have turned out differently. Even if he himself got along with him, his guild members of the Fuurinkazan, didn't see him as friendly.

Kirito had always been quite a silent, brooding and rude brat at times after all, but he digressed.

'So what trouble did he get into this time?'

Klein mumbled even as he unsheathed his sword, checked it's status and placed it back into it's sheathed. Ever since he had unlocked the extra skill Katana, he had started to feel more like a samurai. It was a ridiculous concept but it still made him feel a little satisfied. Not many had the skill after all, and he pushed himself to keep on using it to get a better feel for the skill.

'Let's go gang.'

Klein called out cheerfully to his guild mates, and many of them gave their own half-hearted yawns before entering the dungeon aptly named the Ant Hill.

It was a huge labyrinth and if not for the mapping details that was given by Argo, he would be a little daunted by the size of it. Klein hadn't explored the dungeon himself, he was too high-levelled for it when it was first discovered, and he felt a little apprehensive of the monsters that he was facing till he delivered a quick draw of his sword to the abdomen, dispelling it with a single strike.

Being cautious was good in SAO, for a single fatal mistake could lead to death. The monsters here wasn't as dangerous as it seemed to be, they were significantly weaker than he thought, and so Klein relaxed as his guild started advancing through the dungeon steadily without worry.

..

'I hear something, Klein! There, up ahead!'

The scout of the party, gave a cry of warning even as he signalled to Klein to approach carefully. They had made significant progress into the dungeon, and had even had the chance to pick up a few treasure chests with valuable healing items like crystals, and even one for healing status ailments. This only meant that the Ant Queen, was field boss of the dungeon, was a formidable foe. Klein had heard of how only the largest guilds were able to defeat and navigate the dungeon due to it's size. When one compared how they were significantly higher level than they were, it came as no surprise for them to view the Ant Queen as a pushover.

This would be a good levelling spot for the lower level players, due to the high number of mobs and good loot, but since SAO was a death game, the risks were significantly higher, seeing how they could not advance even a few feet without another Ant scuttling towards them.

'What is it? Is it another ambush? The Soldier Ants?'

The Soldier ants were a much tougher foe than the worker ants for they had massive jaws that they used to try and ensnare and trap them within those jaws, effectively trapping them and rendering them unable to use their swords.

In a party it wouldn't be a problem, but alone it would mean certain death for the player as they would be forced to endure the attacks from not only the soldier ant, but the worker ants as well.

'Y-Yes, and they have another person fighting with them!'

'O-Oh, then we shouldn't get in their way...'

'That's not it! She's alone! And they got her surrounded!'

'W-What! Damnit, let's go!'

Klein swore softly before he charged forward together with the scout, who brandished his own sword as he sliced straight through the first worker ant trying to attack him.

'Oi! You idiot! What are you do-'

Klein's eyes widened when he saw what the lone player was doing. She was trapped within the jaws of the Soldier Ant, or was she? She had her shield jammed between the jaws, using it as a means to stop the Worker Ant from squeezing her with it's jaws even as she hacked at the Ants trying to attack her methodically.

Like what Harry One (the scout), had reported, she was surrounded, but that was not even close to how the situation looked like. She was literally swamped with a sea of Ants as they tried to attack her en mass. The numbers surely exceeded the tens, and with the other Soldier Ants trying to attack her, it was... unreal.

'Shit, c'mon, we got someone to rescue! Oi! Hang in there, whoever you are!'

Klein shouted to the girl, who jerked back momentarily, looking back at him briefly before going back to her task of slashing at the ants. Klein wasn't able to see her HP bar from the distance, not when it was being impeded by the sea of ants, and he cursed again.

They just had to pray that the girl wasn't suicidal, and could hold herself well despite in such dire straits.

'God damnit, that idiot!'

Klein swore as he and his guild charged forward, trying their best to clear the sea of Ants even as Sachi, of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, continued with her task of dealing with the mobs her own way.

Slowly, surely, chipping away at their numbers while backed to a corner.


	4. Twisted Paths

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 4— Twisting Paths**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: And another update within 12 hours. This is just...**

**Anyway, thank you ****_bowpurity _****for the beta. If there's any silly errors, blame him!**

* * *

..

'Y-You... alright?'

Klein gave a relieved sigh as he panted from dealing with the swarm of ants that had surrounded the girl that was surrounded. He was both relieved that they had managed to help her, but at the same time was confused at why the reasonably high-levelled player was doing here in this low-middle levelled dungeon. Higher levelled players were discouraged from taking lower levelled levelling spots as it would not be fair to the lower-levelled players who needed the experience more.

It was thankful that this hidden dungeon was mostly too dangerous for the lower-levelled players and they were deep enough within it to not get in the way of the middle-levelled players. Due to the large amounts of Ants that he had slayed though, Klein did gain a small amount of EXP from this attempt. It wasn't as efficient as levelling in the higher levels, but if he wished to grind for loot and gold, this was a decent place if they kept at the same rate.

'Yes... Thank you.'

The solo girl player replied softly even as she pushed back the visor of the small helm that she was wearing before bowing to Klein for his assistance. Honestly though, Klein didn't think that his help was really needed seeing that she was still very calm after going through such an experience. She must be a solo player, if her party members have died, Klein would have difficulty believing that she could remain so calm.

'A—Ahh... it's fine. I'm Klein, I'm 24, and single.'

Klein blurted out his usual greetings when he realized that yes, this was really quite a cute girl with her short black hair and more than average facial features. Her eyes however, made Klein flinch a little. It was like looking into Kirito's eyes when he was mad, and he made a mental note to not make this girl mad at all cost.

'Sachi. I'm part of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, Klein-san.'

'The Black Cats... Oh... Oh! You're part of Kirito's guild aren't you?'

Klein snapped his fingers in recognition before scratching his head in embarrassment. They had met with that small guild that Kirito had joined just once before, it was a time when they bumped into each other during a trip to the town to replenish supplies.

Klein had been very glad that Kirito had finally teamed up with someone, and had an enjoyable time trading jokes and information with the leader of the Guild, Keita. He hadn't even noticed that there was such a cute girl in the guild too, perhaps he was just too happy for Kirito then.

'Yes, I'm in the same guild as Kirito-kun.'

Sachi answered softly even as she reached down to pick up her shield before dismissing it and equipping another instead.

'Y-Yeaaah... So erm, Sachi-san. Why are you doing here alone? I know that you're probably strong enough to deal with all those Ants by yourself... but it's still quite dangerous. Your stuffs durability would run out eventually.'

Klein tried explaining to her even as the rest of his guild members gathered behind him as well, looking curious at someone who had not immediately shot down their leader after his customary greeting.

It had became quite a running jokes, as well as constant annoyance for them as if the trend continues, they would be forever alone due to their leader's lack of charisma, and die in battle because of his chivalry... Ah, the problems of a group of noble people were great indeed.

'I brought extras, Klein-san... Thank you for your concern.'

Sachi gave him a brief nod before she pushed the visor of her helm down slightly again. Wearing a helm was something that wasn't popular in the players rank due to how it does restrict the field of vision, despite it providing better defense to the player than your run of the mill hat or bandanna. Then again, a bandanna does provide some useful effects like increased speed or perhaps a boost towards dexterity that a helm doesn't. Anyway, players who wear helms were traditionally forwards, tanks who took damage and lured monsters to them for their party.

They were also subsequently roles that were the most disliked and risky in SAO, due to how it was a death game. As combat might turn in a single second due to the unpredictability of the game itself, it wasn't unusual for a tank to be killed when more mobs would suddenly materialize and subsequently overwhelm the tank when he was unable to match his own recovery with the rate in which he was taking damage. Well, there would normally be a pair of tanks to rotate and switch with, just like how players paired up when attacking to make levelling much easier.

So it was confusing to see a girl, and quite a petite one at that, equipped only with leather armor, a simply wooden shield wearing a helm and acting like a forward.

'No, it's not okay, Sachi-san... Where is the rest of your party, and your guild? Where's Kirito? If that bastard let you train here alone, I'm going to...'

Klein growled, partly due to his indignation at his friend potentially having a girl at his beck and call like that, and partly due to him allowing a _girl_ to go through such brutal training in the first place.

'… My guild members are dead. All of them, but Kirito-kun.'

Sachi's words caused Klein to freeze and the guys behind him gave their own gasp as they winced too. Klein had known about the Black Cats of the Full Moon and quickly found out that Kirito was hiding his true level from them. He had played along, teasing Kirito about not being jealous about their levels and all that. He had a lot of friends and contacts within SAO, and his guild was considered one of the most approachable and contactable clearer guilds of SAO. It was also due to that did he know about the resentment and perhaps unhappiness the middle and lower levelled guilds felt for the clearers in general.

They were grateful that they were doing their best to clear each level of Aincrad, but with the increasing level gap from the clearers to those guilds, the competition got harder and harder. Many smaller guilds were simply unable to keep up with the pace, or were not strong enough to even try to hunt in the better levelling spots in the lower levels that were being occupied by the bigger guilds to raise their numbers.

Klein knew that Kirito had already taken a great hit by being called a _beater_ as well as a _solo_, even if those titles weren't really able to be linked to him as a player, it would still be difficult for Kirito to ever open up to everyone.

Seeing Kirito in a guild that welcomed him, and treated him as one one of them was a huge relief, and he had helped him conceal that secret.

But the guild members... were now dead?

..

'… I'm... I'm sorry for your loss, Sachi-san.'

Klein bit his lip even as he tried hard to not lose his temper, or frustration at the news. His guild members, upon hearing their leader act in that way, tried hard to meet him even as Klein sheathed his sword and continued.

'Is there anything I can help you with, Sachi-san? Anything at all, just name it.'

Klein was tempted to rest a hand on her shoulder to reassure her, but refrained from doing it in fear of scaring her away. The incident must have happened in another area, definitely not here... and it must have happened quite recently for on hindsight the girl looked simply exhausted, definitely not just from fighting the monsters here, but from other things as well.

Where was Kirito when he needed him now?

Klein also noted cynically that he has came a long time from how he would scream, or simply vent his frustration on his surroundings in frustration when he first saw someone die. Death, was a constant in SAO, and it had apparently stopped affecting him as much, something which disgusted him as well.

'… Could you help me reach the Ant Queen?'

Sachi asked softly even as Klein raised an eyebrow at her request. Defeat the Ant Queen? Now? Why would she want to do that? Wouldn't it be more important for her to take a rest, to mourn, or to do something else rather than fighting? Or did Kirito tell her that the best way to grieve was to kill things? If he did, Klein will punch him, protocols be damned.

It was at that point that Klein also decided that he would never understand woman.

It was as if Sachi could read Klein's mind for she shook her head and explained that Kirito was being taken care of by Argo.

'… Kirito-kun didn't take the news well... He still hasn't woken up.'

'Then you should be with him, Sachi-san. He's strong, but he's always weak... that Kirito would never admit to less than that.'

Klein protested softly, him raising his hands to elaborate even as his guild members agreed with him. There were no funerals in SAO, when people died, they simply fragmented into thousands of polygons, and so the only way to mourn differed from individuals. They were all human after all, and they had the right to cry, to mourn, and to be upset about the loss of someone important to them. Especially one's guild mates, they were the people they entrusted with their lives after all. And to have one of those people lose their lives was something of a great loss, of great sadness, and something that shouldn't be shrugged off, or dismissed so easily.

Especially for girls, Klein always thought that girls were better in expressing their emotions than men, and he had seen his share of players breaking down in the bars when they came back missing a team mate or sometimes, the entire party.

Never a woman though, Klein's bad luck with the opposite almost guaranteed that.

..

'… I would. But I need... to experience this.'

'Experience this?'

Klein raised an eyebrow in surprise even as Sachi pushed the visor of her helm back to look at him again.

'I want to experience a boss fight, Klein-san.'

'Huh?!'

* * *

..

Klein had seen many amazing things in his time in SAO, one of the few things that he found truly amazing was how Kirito performed in the front line. From his amazing dexterity, the way he handled his swords, to how he always seemed to be impossible to stop when in the midst of combat. He was straight, that part was a guarantee, but it still was captivating to see the dance of steel and flesh attack the Bosses of each level. Kirito had always participated in the boss clear for all the floors since level one, and in many cases, was the first to attack, or the last one to retreat till the participation of the Knights of the Blood, Heathcliff, who was now taking the front-lines as a forward. It was said that he was impossible to stop, similar to Kirito.

But this really took the cake, the sight of the frailer girl taking the role of the forward in front of his guild members as they confronted the Ant Queen and her army of Worker Ants by herself without fear or flinching.

Of course, Klein had no intention of letting Sachi take on the boss by herself, and he reckoned that if he refused, she would go ahead by herself anyway. He might as well cut himself the break and agree to her request for help to reach the Ant Queen. Sachi wasn't as low levelled as he had imagined, she was hovering around 7 levels lower than the average level of the clearers, and that by itself was more than enough for the dungeon, only it would take forever for her to reach the Ant Queen.

Of course Klein didn't know why she wanted to face a field boss like that, but he had no doubt that this was Argo's request, to help Sachi who was trying this dungeon for the first time by herself.

Since she was invited to the party, Klein had been able to keep a close eye on Sachi's HP bar. It was always just hovering above the danger level of 10% and never above, and she would always reject his guild's assistance for help with a healing crystal, instead relying on potions to replenish her HP.

Klein didn't know what she was trying to prove, or what skill she was training to stick to such a regime... and he was worried that Sachi might have more than a few loose screws.

Argo apparently agreed with him, for when he sent a message back to tell her that they found Sachi and was accompanying her to fight the Ant Queen. The reply message had simply been to watch over her, and to make sure she didn't do anything dangerous.

Klein would argue that facing a field boss was dangerous, but he digressed. The Ant Queen wasn't really dangerous, it was the first Field Boss, and a hidden Field Boss to be found in Aincrad after all. In terms of levels, it was perhaps similar to the Kobold King that they fought in the first boss fight, but it's actual attacks were pathetically weak as compared to it.

No, the threat came from the huge mob of Ant monsters that guarded the Ant Queen. They were the real threats, and from what he had heard, they were mostly Soldier Ants, which meant more of that 'hugging' thing from them as well.

This will definitely not be fun.

..

Another thing that Klein noted from their resident female forward was how she fought. Initially he thought that Sachi was perhaps training her guard or parry skills, both skills which were important to be a forward, but that changed when she saw what he was doing.

She wasn't simply parrying or guarding, she was allowing the ants to attack her with their jaws, allowing them to deliver slashing blows to her body even as she winced at the sensation. Now there really wasn't any real pain in SAO, the most one would feel was the impact of the blow, as well as some numbness from the attacks. It wasn't as realistic as it should be, but remember, SAO was supposed to be a game. But inexplicably, Sachi still reacted as though she was in pain, wincing when she was struck before her own counter was delivered back to the ant.

Unlike Klein, who used his one-sided sword to slash and hack away at his enemies, or Kirito who favored dual-edged swords due to his own style of delivering quick and powerful slashes from all angles, Sachi preferred quick stabbing actions with her short sword. And it worked quite well too, for she was a forward, and being a forward allowed her to get in close with the monsters who was crying for her blood.

Eventually Klein observed a pattern from Sachi's actions. She would draw a monster's attention by charging forward to bash it with her shield. Subsequently allow the monster it's first hit before stabbing it quickly between the eyes as it tried for a second go, block or parry the second move and stab it again. Simply wash, rinse and repeat the second action till the monster was dead, all the while ensuring that she was within striking range, and the monster still engaging her.

Against multiple monsters, which was common enough in the Ant Hill, Sachi would take a different technique. The short run up towards the monster was always a constant, and for some reason, Sachi would always do so with her shield. She must have found out something that he didn't, but anyway, with the first hit on the monster with her shield, Sachi would then allow them to surround her, seeing how the monsters attack her head on without getting into each other's way.

Sachi would allow them the time to get organized before parrying their blows with her shield, slowly making her way into the guard of the monster in front of her till it was unable to attack her without getting into the way of his comrades. Sachi normally accomplished this by ramming her shield into the jaws of the Ant, and keeping it there, the ant exposed and helpless while she started dispatching it off with her stabbing attacks.

It was a brutally efficient method that might explain how Sachi was able to dispatch of the many ants that had gotten her way before she had been stalled by the new type of Soldier Ant. She was basically creating a situation where the mobs, even if they wanted to kill her, were effectively unable to bring their full might onto her due to the interference of their own kind.

Even if monsters were well, rarely cooperative besides the Bosses, they had a kind of limited consciousness that sometimes allowed them to fight with even terms with the players, sometimes even honorably even. But the monsters never inflicted damage on each other as far as they could help it. If they were forced to attack their members by the players, they would attack the players with even more ferocity. It was like the NPCs, they had limited consciousness as well, and this was what Sachi was taking advantage of.

With one of their members as a shield, she was effectively cripplingly the monster's attacks against her as well. It was... innovative, as well as brutal, for doing that was admitting that the monsters could think, just like they could. They weren't just bits of programming, they were things with their own lives, their own family? The players never really thought about it, Klein certainly didn't, but Sachi's actions made him hesitate just a little before he swung instinctively at another Ant monster, destroying it even as he continued to look at Sachi stabbing into the Worker Ant in front of her like she was pounding meat.

That fact alone was enough to cause him to shudder in fear, there was something definitely wrong with the girl that was with them right now.

..

Back to the Ant Queen, Sachi charged forward softly but purposefully before slamming her shield into the nearest Worker Ant, possibly stunning it before turning to ram her shield down at the tip of the Worker's ants jaws like how she did before.

Now 'trapped' within the jaws of the Ant, Sachi started stabbing it between it's eyes, causing it to thrash around desperately even as the other Ants tried to swarm Sachi unsuccessfully, for she was hanging on to the jaws of the Worker Ant as it tried to throw her off, shield and all. With that failing, the Ant would have tried to open it's jaws only for it to fail as it was already swarmed with it's own companions trying to attack Sachi. This opening what what Sachi needed, for she was now safe from the other Ants, and could kill them as slowly as she wanted.

Klein could only watch in a mixture of fascination and horror at the methods that Sachi was employing to kill the mobs. It was efficient, and it definitely got results. But it was sure scary and intimidating to watch that pretty girl stabbing all the helpless Ant Monsters to their deaths. Talk about death from a thousand paper cuts indeed.

'Oi leader, we aren't here to watch the girl _murder_ all those ants... we're here to help her.'

Harry One commented even as he gave a scared grin of his own. The guild had gone through several dangerous situations, had flirted with death in the front lines, and just looking at Sachi slowly but surely taking down the ants in such a fashion was terrifying to watch.

'R-Right, let's back her up then!';

Klein gave a nervous cough before charging forward and drawing his sword in a quick draw, slashing a horizontal line in front of him even as he activated a skill that caused an entire row of ants to be destroyed into polygons in front of his eyes.

' Thank you for your help, Klein-san.'

Sachi spoke up from the din of destroyed ants, and Klein barely suppressed a shudder when he saw Sachi driving her short sword deep into the mouth of a worker ant, twist it, before pulling out just as it disappeared into polygons at all. Sachi derived no satisfaction or joy of victory from this, and it reminded of how Kirito looked before he joined the Black Cats of the Full Moon.

Was history repeating itself on the poor girl in front of him?

'...Damnit Kirito, where are you when we really need you. She... needs you too.'

Klein muttered even as he delivered several quick slashes that again took out another group of Ants, only to hear a shriek from the end of the Hallway, it was time for the Ant Queen to make her entrance.

'Get ready, Sachi-san! It's here!'

Klein warned, and he pretended not to see the way Sachi's features lit up a little in anticipation, or how she jumped over the Soldier Ant she was using as a meat shield to meet the approaching monster with only a dagger in hand.

Or at least, only for a while, for she equipped another shield, dismissing her first one as lost before the Ant Queen showed herself in all of it's white monstrosity glory.

* * *

..

'U-Ugh...?'

Argo's eyes snapped open when she both heard and felt the signs of someone waking up beside her. She had been busy accumulating and gathering information since she woke up, and had subsequently decided on a quick nap.

Apparently she was more tired than she though for the nap had stretched to half a day or perhaps she was just too comfortable being with Kirito. The latter was also a guilty pleasure, for she couldn't enjoy this when Kirito was suffering as well.

Argo wasn't amused by what was surely Sachi's handiwork as she received reports on a player that was gathering wolf mobs and slaughtering them under the Full Moon. As with before, the rumours was blown out of proportion, with some reports saying that they sighted a Were-wolf of all things appear to avenge his kin, and that it was a hidden-boss that was triggered by the player who did that.

Another rumour that was of interest was how there was a new NPC, or perhaps a player who had discovered a unique cloak item, a wolf-pelt of some sort. Somehow, Argo found it in her not to facepalm, or to drag a hand down her face in exasperation at the amount of luck that Sachi had in order to get away with all this. Perhaps it was true that once her string of bad luck had ran out, it was all plain sailing then?

Argo was also _not amused_ when it became clear that Sachi was attempting to fight a field boss by herself, no matter the level of the boss, and her best intentions, Argo had absolutely no idea what she was up to.

Wasn't Kirito supposed to be her hero? Why wouldn't she want to be with him? She would want to be the first person to see him wake up, and to comfort him right?

So why was she the one clinging onto Kirito, helping him sit up and even passing him a glass of water as he slowly woke up.

Despite sleeping for around a full day, judging from how it was late evening now, Kirito still looked tired and worse for the wear.

'A-Argo...?'

Argo was flattered that the first thing that he said was her name, and despite herself, she found herself nodding to him with a gentle smile before pressing another cup of water to him, urging him to drink.

'W-What hap-...'

Kirito started to say, but his face scrunched up in grief and pain before he lowered his face into his hands in a bid to hide his suffering. Argo wasn't going to let that happen, she had been given this chance to comfort Kirito, and she was damn well going to do that.

As gently as she could, Argo cupped her hands around Kirito's head before raising it slowly to meet her. As she expected, Kirito was crying again, his grey eyes brimming full of tears even as he stared up at Argo in anguish. It nearly broke her heart to see Kirito in this state, but she still had to say it.

'Tell me, what happened, Kii-bou...'

'A-Argo...'

He managed to whisper his name before he tried to look away, but again Argo was not having none of that as her hands firmly kept his eyes on hers stubbornly. This was painful for Kirito, she knew, but it was also something that needed to be said, if only to relieve some of the burden of his heart. The same burden that had compelled Sachi to go about the entirely different way to stave it off.

Grief, and love, they were powerful things... but it all depended on how one channelled those emotions into.

'Please, Kii-bou... Tell me, what happened.'

Argo repeated, and Kirito, after a long time staring at her, nodded his head and began to tell her what had happened.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Finally Kirito wakes up!**


	5. Distorted

**_Shield And Swords_**

**_Chapter 5— Distorted_**

..

**Original Title: ****_Sword Art Online_** (ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Once of these days, the update rate will kill me.**

**Anyway, thank you ****_bowpurity for the beta!_**

* * *

**_.._**

That thing was huge, and white, and monstrous. Whoever designed the Ant Queen obviously had fun trying to make it as scary as possible. But it failed for that white, pulsing lump looked quite pathetic to Klein and his company when compared to the more dangerous and intimidating Soldier Ants with their large incisors and jaws. As befitting of it's reputation as a weak Field Boss, possibly the weakest ever, the Ant Queen roared even as it slowly advanced from it's chambers, making loud squelching sounds as it moved forward with it's pathetically small legs. It was like someone had stuck a worker ant's head to a large sausage shaped white balloon behind it and then subsequently let it loose into the world.

Even if Klein did know that was the Ant Queen's reproductive organs, and was continuously spawning Ant Eggs behind it that made it such a threat, it was still quite hilarious to see it squash some smaller Ants as it advanced towards Sachi and the mob of Worker and Soldier Ants that she had trapped and ensnared with her brutal mob gathering technique.

'…'

Klein could only watch as Sachi continued slashing away at the Ants which were trying to dislodge her from the Worker Ant that she had been torturing earlier, even going to the extent to climbing over the stabbed Soldier Ant as she did so. The Sheila that she had lodged within the jaws of the ant was probably lost now, and Sachi brought up her inventory, equipped another shield before jumping forward to meet the boss.

Players were capable of extreme agility, but it was limited by the amount of skill points they allocated to the respective skills or dexterity. As a forward, and as a tank, Sachi wouldn't have been able to invest in as much of it, and Klein wasn't surprised when she landed a little short. What made him whistle even as he cleared the mobs around him was how Sachi landed on the back of another ant, then another, as she made her way through the fastest way to the Ant Queen still struggling to reach them.

'Should we just watch?'

Dynamm whispered even as he continued to hack away at the relentless Ants. The number of mobs were smaller due to how three of their members were at the choke point holding off the rest of the Ants. If it was Sachi alone, Klein really had to wonder how long it would take for Sachi to clear this place by herself.

For he was sure that Sachi would not rest till she did, so Argo was right to seek his help. Or was she seeking help all this while from someone else? Just that thought itself was enough to cause him to wince and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration before he realized that he was probably right.

And that she was waiting for someone, not them, but someone else to save her from this.

This was crazy, the girl was really crazy if that's true!

'Yeah. She's got to do it alone.'

'What? Hey, Klein!'

'… Hell does it make sense! But, she wants this. She's waiting for someone, but in the meantime, all she could do is this. This is f**cked up. I don't care any more.'

Klein displayed his displeasure at the situation even as Dynamm stared at him as though he was crazy.

'We're not _substitutes _damnit! But f**k it. That's all we are to her. We're not here to help, she doesn't want our help! Oi! Sachi!'

Klein shouted even as Sachi reached the Ant Queen, and even he was surprised when Sachi turned back to look at him, her cold eyes looking straight at him even as Klein hacked his way through another bunch of Ants.

'You're waiting for _him_ aren't you? Are you really planning to die here? Is he... is it that bad?!'

Klein asked, hoping dearly that it wasn't true, and his hopes was shattered when Sachi simply gave her a sad smile, the slight turning of her lips making Klein gnash his teeth in frustration.

'You're crazy! You know that don't you?!'

This time Sachi did speak, her mouth muttering something before she charged forward, shield in hand as she rammed it straight into the large white mass in front of her.

Whatever Klein said in reply was lost to her, for the battle was already on.

* * *

..

'… So that's what happened.'

Argo didn't sigh, she had already considered this situation from her own deductions. That was amongst the many possibilities that would have caused Kirito to lost all of his guild members, but for the leader to commit suicide? Now that... was hard for **even **her to stomach.

She couldn't say it wasn't his fault, but she couldn't _not_ say it either, but was it what Kirito wanted to hear from her right now? Or would it be that she understood? All of those thoughts went through Argo's mind, and in the end, she picked neither as she simply allowed Kirito to continue hold her for comfort.

Was it because she was too comfortable? Or was it due to how she was afraid that Kirito would disappear if she rejected him now? Maybe it was because she had already stumbled upon the real answer and what Kirito wanted.

He wanted acceptance, not forgiveness, for it was not for Argo to give. He needed someone to know, to accept him for what he had done, the guilt that he bore was his alone though and that... was heavier than the burdens he had been carrying before.

'… Thank you for telling me this, Kii-bou.'

Argo managed to say after a long while of silence, it wasn't bad, nor was it awkward. It was just calm, and peaceful, a tranquility that she hadn't felt for a while till Kirito shifted, causing Argo to raise an eyebrow even as she looked at the younger boy who had been clinging on to her like a lifesaver.

'Kii-bou?'

'… Argo...'

'Yes, Kii-bou?'

Argo wasn't sure how she should treat Kirito now, should she treat him like a fragile object that would break at a moment's notice? Or should she simply treat him per normal, that was tease him for all she was worth? It was always cute to see him all flustered and all.

'I... I think... I'm... fine for now.'

Argo blinked before she noticed that she was in quite an embarrassing position with Kirito, that was, he was hugging her yes, but she had also unconsciously manoeuvred herself so that she was sitting on his lap as well, by product of her shorter stature and it was more comfortable that way.

'Oh. Sure, if you say so, Kii-bou.'

Argo was able to successfully fight and suppress the blush that appeared on her face even as she hopped off Kirito, dusted herself off to grin at him teasingly.

'Glad to see that you still got it even though you went through all that, you little womanizer you.'

Argo grinned happily, showing her teeth at Kirito even as the very cute boy blushed and scratched his head.

'You too... Argo, I like your hair...'

Kirito blurted out, and this time Argo couldn't help but be embarrassed as she hurriedly tried to pull the top of her cloak over her hair. She almost never showed her full face if she could help it, but in this case, she had forgotten that she had taken the hood off as it was just too hot in doors.

..

'A-Ahaha, you shouldn't do that, you still have Sachi-chan after all. No cheating, Kii-bou.'

Argo winked even as her face continued to stay red, but her jibe was lost on Kirito as he looked around in confusion.

'Where... are we, Argo?'

'Ah, our room of course. Did you got so drunk last night that you couldn't remember what you did?!'

Argo faked a gasp even as she fiddled with her fingers, acting all coy and innocent as she was rewarded with Kirito's eyes almost popping out of his head.

'You... you really don't remember what we did last night? Y-You did say that my hair was beautiful and all that... was that all a lie!?'

Argo pouted angrily even as she swung her hands down to her side cutely, it was all worth it to see Kirito suddenly jump out of bed, his hands raised in front of him in panic at Argo's little act.

'W-Whaaa? A-Argo?'

'Yo-You have to take responsibility!'

Argo couldn't help herself, for it was too hilarious to pass up, but at the same time, she was happy to see some of the old Kirito as she struck him lightly on the chest after pouncing on him, forcing him to carry her weight even as she stared up at him.

'A-After all, we're in the same guild now... Kii-bou.'

Argo admitted softly, this time causing Kirito's eyes to widen in shock, and then stiffen in pain even as he gave a startled gasp at seeing that was true.

'I won't let that happen again, Kii-bou. So please, don't run away from me, from us. Sachi she, is waiting for you too. You have to go now, to save her, right now, Kii-bou..'

Argo's words caused tears to form in Kirito's eyes as a mixture of emotions struck home even as Argo guided his hand to open up the Guild Page, as well as Sachi's status. The flashing indicator of several messages in his message Inbox was enough for Kirito to scrunch his face up in pain.

'Argo...'

Kirito finally breathed out loud, causing the smaller girl to tilt her head in anticipation of his declaration. She had faith in him, just like how Sachi had faith in him. He was Kirito, the one who they believed in would save all of them, to save the world. The **Black Swordsman** won't fall so easily.

'I'll be right back... so please, wait for me... Wait for me.'

'You have to come back before dinner, okay? With Sachi-chan too.'

Argo managed small chuckle in reply as the look of fierce determination returned in Kirito's eyes even as he placed Argo down, the mousey girl giving him a grin even as she reminded him that Teleport Crystals doesn't work in that dungeon.

'Work hard, Kii-bou!'

* * *

..

The frantic screams of the Ant Queen echoed in Sachi's head, making her head ring even as she backed away from her first attack to get her attention. Charging forward and bashing her with her shield always caused a temporary stun effect, which helped her to read her enemies' movement. In this case, the Ant Queen was just too big and she could only bring her shield up above her like an umbrella to block the blow from the Ant Queen which had tried to attack her by slamming it's head down towards her, screaming at her angrily all the way.

The height from where the Ant Queen was attacking from, as well as the weight was enough to make it's attack to be more powerful than the ants that had attacked Sachi so far and she felt her entire body struggle to stay on her feet, her arms trembling from the strain even as the attack kicked up a huge cloud of dust from it's impact.

But Sachi weathered it somehow and when the dust settled after a while, she could see that like the Worker Ants before, it was a little woozy from having slammed it's jaws straight onto the shield at full force. Only this time it had clamped onto the shield even as Sachi was hanging on to it for dear life.

This was her chance and Sachi swung her short sword and stabbed the Ant Queen below the jaw mercilessly, ignoring it's shriek of pain. It was methodical, but after doing the same thing for perhaps thousand of times, the orange light that accompanied the [Pierce] stabbing skill was second nature to Sachi and it dealt significant damage due to how she would always strike at exactly the same exposed spot. Kind of like tenderizing a piece of meat actually, and Sachi found herself mildly surprised when she felt something hit her from behind.

The Worker Ants had finally caught up with her, having difficulty maneuvering themselves around before and was encircling her position. The first Ant who had attacked her tried to repeat the action only for Sachi to cancel it's attack by once again ramming her sword into it's jaws. The skill that Sachi had used on the Ant Queen was discovered by accident, and as far as she knew, it was named [Shield Charge], and was only usable when she had the intent to use the shield as a weapon. The [Shield] mastery had also appeared on her skill lists, and she was training it together with the [Parry], [Guard] and [Battle Healing]. Those were essential skills of being a forward, and it helped that Sachi viewed her shield not only as a means to protect herself, but as a means to attack as well.

It had all came together quite accidentally, perhaps in the 4th hour of her 'training' amongst the wolves, as she had spent the first few hours trying to get a better feel of how her body should work. It was terrifying and it should be painful, only there wasn't as much pain as it should be. No, there wasn't any pain at all, and so Sachi found it hard to correlate it how she should act.

..

Eventually Sachi had forgotten or had given up monitoring her HP bar, instead choosing to focus more on how she could stop getting attacked by the wolves. It didn't hurt, not really anyway, and after a while, after one got used to the constant attacking patterns by the wolves, it wasn't as scary or intimidating as it should be.

Sachi felt like she was numbed to it and that wasn't the way she should feel at all, even if it was a step forward from how she previously would never dare to engage monsters like this. Now she was simply numb to it, not even fearing for her own death, something so extreme that she knew she was doing it wrong.

The wolves and ants were lower level monsters, and since she was there to build her confidence, her resolve as well as her skills, it was still... fine, right? But when, and that was definitely not a 'if', Sachi managed to coax Kirito-kun to return to the front lines with her by his side, she couldn't rely on this mentality.

Sachi knew she had to get over her fear, but not in this way, she was simply throwing her life away if she continued in this fashion. What scared her was how she had not realized it till she had killed the Mini-boss, the Were-wolf, and only after seeing the regret in it's dying eyes did Sachi became aware at how detached she had been over the entire night.

She was desperate and she was clinging onto the last straws in the can in the hope that she could help Kirito-kun in this fashion, she could be the one to force him to act, to make him realize that their lives, from then onwards, were connected.

But if she went on in this same fashion, she would... not be herself anymore.

And so Sachi had to rediscover her fear as well, for only with fear for one's own life could one do their best, or at least she felt that was how her and her guild had always progressed.

Keita always said: **_"But I feel that it was willpower. Their desire to protect their friends, all the players are strong. It's because of this power that they were able to win in dangerous boss battles. We're the ones being protected, but our feelings won't lose to them. So...I feel that if we continue to work hard like this, we can catch up."_**

She had to have the willpower, she had to be stronger, to remember her fear, to know what she was fighting for... and so Sachi fought, and she told herself to feel pain, even if it might be false, even if there was no blood, even if this was a game.

No, this _wasn't a game_, if it was, she wouldn't, her friends wouldn't... have to go through this!

Swearing to herself, Sachi let loose a battle cry for the first time as she heard the sounds of the Ant Queen rearing back and preparing to slam down on her again.

* * *

..

Kirito narrowed his eyes as he checked his equipment, reaffirming that he had everything before looking back at Argo, who was patiently sitting in the front porch of their guildhouse.

_Their _guildhouse, it sounded so hollow and wrong. He didn't deserve a place here, a place filled with so much warmth and friendship was torn apart because he had been an idiot, because he had hid things from them, because he... he failed them.

'You're hesitating again, Kii-bou. I guess Sachi-chan had the right idea... if you don't go and save her now, it'll be too late.'

Argo conveniently didn't mention anything about Klein already helping Sachi out, but in combat, everything was impossible and for all she knew they all could be wiped out if they weren't careful. The chances were extremely low, but in SAO, _anything_ could kill if they weren't careful.

'… Sachi did this by herself? Why...? Why did she want to... put herself at risk like this?'

Kirito had an attack of vertigo when Argo told him that Sachi had left to train, to get stronger and now needed his help. It was stupid, it was reckless and Kirito couldn't understand why she did that. Because Kirito had already failed her once, he had almost lost her there, and for her to put so much faith in him was simply...

_'She trusts you, Kii-bou. Sachi-chan she, knows that you'll come for her. You're her hero, and she will wait, and believe. So you have to go and save her. If not, you'll lose her._'

Argo's words when Kirito confessed to her was enough to make Kirito inhale deeply before nodding his head. Sachi still trusted him, she still believed in him after what he had done. It... made things feel a little better, that he had not lost everyone... and perhaps the two of them were right. That he hadn't lost everything yetand that atonement began now. He had to save Sachi, and he mustn't let his fears and regret get in the way of that.

'Kii-bou, it's because it's you, Kii-bou, that Sachi could do this. For I believe in Kii-bou too, I can understand what Sachi-chan means when she said that if it's you, it's fine. You're strong, Kii-bou, but you're weak too... But this time, we need you to be strong. Sachi-chan is trying to be strong in her own way, and you have to respond to her feelings. Go, Kii-bou, bring Sachi-chan back. You can't change the past now, Kii-bou, you can never make what happened go away. But you _can_ make this _never_ happen again.'

Argo spoke softly even as she sighed, Sachi didn't tell her anything, but that was what she felt herself. And maybe it was right, maybe it was something as simple as that. Argo didn't know, but those were her feelings, and perhaps why she had agreed to help Sachi-chan, and to join the guild.

Kirito had needed this guild, and now that it was gone, something else had to take it's place. Why not her? And why not Sachi?

'Go, Kii-bou. Don't make a girl wait longer than she have to.'

Argo gave Kirito a sly smile, that was turned into embarrassment when Kirito scratched his head and said that he was happy that Argo believed in him as well.

'… I guess, I needed someone to remind that...'

'Huuh? W-Wait, what's this about, Kii-bou, we're talking bout Sachi-chan here.'

'We are... but, you're right, Argo... I don't want this to happen again, I won't let it... I... I won't... I … had thought of killing myself.'

Kirito's words made Argo's eyes widen and she reached out to grab his coat, pulling him down to her eye level even as she shouted at him.

'DON'T EVER SAY THAT! IF YOU SAY THAT, IT'S OVER!'

Kirito could only gawk at Argo before she let him go, and she sniffled a little too when Kirito cleared his throat and clarified himself. He was still in pain, and that pain itself won't go away that easily, or soon. But when he thought of Sachi in danger, even _Argo_ in danger, people who trusted him, it hurt even more.

'I said I _thought_... but then, when I saw Argo, when I knew that Sachi was... being stupid because of me.'

Kirito narrowed his eyes, only for Argo to step on his feet in annoyance.

'Sachi only did that because she was afraid that _you_ would just give up! So alright, maybe she wasn't right in the head then. You weren't too, if you wanted to die.'

Argo paused for a moment before she lowered her head and mumbled.

'But it's understandable too... the two of you, went through such something like that... I can't blame you... but now that you're better, at least a little, go and help Sachi-chan.'

Argo ordered angrily before Kirito nodded his head. The place that Sachi was training at wasn't dangerous, but it must be terrifying for Sachi, who never ventured outside without a party.

'I'm going now.'

'Be back soon, Kii-bou.'

Argo waved as the **Black Swordsman** took out a teleport crystal and disappeared from view.

* * *

..

Klein couldn't help but cough at the large dust cloud that was kicked up from the latest attack by the Ant Queen on Sachi. His guild the [Fuurinkazan] had done a great job clearing and holding back the majority of the Ant hordes, but it was still quite a sight to see Sachi take on, or at least engage and occupy the horde of Ants that did not give up attacking Sachi.

There must be some skill being used by a forward that Sachi was using to gather so many mobs to her, but Klein didn't have time to think about it for he had received a message during battle.

Normally he wouldn't care, but as this one was from Argo, Klein hesitated before pulling back and letting Dynamm take his place.

'Oi, leader, what's going on?'

'Sorry, got to read this. Cover my back for a-'

Klein's apologetic reply was cut short as an ear splitting shriek put a stop to everyone's actions. Looking up, Klein's eyes widened when he saw Sachi being lifted upwards into the air by the Ant Queen as she clung on to her shield. Once again, Sachi had managed to manoeuvre herself into an advantageous situation by pre-empting the actions of the monsters. With the Ant Queen thrashing about to get the shield dislodged from her jaws, Sachi was forced to hang on for dear life in the air. Even as Klein and company watched in both mortification and fascination, the sounds of the Ants attacking them again became clear.

'Hurry up with the message, Klein! There are too many of them! This stupid dungeon raid will get harder if you keep on staring at the girl's panties!'

Dynamm managed to quip even as Klein backhanded him on the back of his head, grumbling that there was no way one can see anything at the height. But after he read the message, he gave a relieved sigh before reporting that reinforcements were coming.

Kirito was coming.

'But that girl sure is...'

Harry One commented to Klein even as he watched Sachi stab the Ant Queen between it's eyes before climbing onto the top of it's head, many feet in the air due to the size of the monster.

'Crazy? You got that part right.'

Dynamm sighed even as Klein had to agree. No one fought in that fashion, it was... unorthodox, even if it was effective. They were all fighting for their lives, that was true, but Sachi she... it was like she was seeing things on a different level. Like she was experiencing and living the world differently than everyone else did.

The risks that she took, the way she was treating the monsters, reading them, anticipating them, was different. And Klein didn't really understand how different it was to her at all.

Only she herself did, only Sachi, who was seeing things through another pair of glasses knew how distorted she had became.

* * *

**Author's Notes: The pace will slow once I end the first arc~ Just saying. in the mean time, R&R please!**


	6. Different Glasses

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 6—Different Glasses**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Here we go, one of the last... frenzied updates for the week.  
**

**I won't be able to keep up with this pace after this for a while at least.**

**Thank you, _bowpurity _for the beta as always!**

* * *

..

On top of the Ant Queen, Sachi continued with what she had been doing before, stabbing into the unprotected head of the Ant Queen even as it tried to shake her off.

Sachi felt a little pity for the monsters, she had been told that it was okay to slay them as they regenerated themselves anyway, and as they were programmed monsters generated by SAO itself, it meant that even if they might be 'alive', they weren't quite alive like how they were.

But Sachi begged to differ, her experience with the wolf mobs as well as within the [Ant Hill] itself had made her question that. She had feared them for they had been programmed to attack them, but that wasn't true as well. It was true that some monsters did attack them when players were detected, but it could also be interpretative that they attacked because the players were intruding into their territory after all.

The passive monsters only attacked them because the players aggravated them after all. It was an absurd line of thought, especially for a player who had to kill to survive, but at the same time, it was also understandable from Sachi's point of view.

She was afraid of dying and had abandoned that fear of dying when she got used to the fear that she felt when she was facing her enemies. It was absurd, and it was also reality. While one could correlate pain with death, this was replaced with the thought and the fear that they would die because their HP bar, a figure that was calculated by the system, reached zero.

Was it real fear, or was it an irrational one? Sachi discovered that to her, it was real, the fear of dying was real however... it didn't quite match up to how she felt in battle itself. She might fear dying, but when in combat, she simply did not feel that she was 'dying' so to speak when she was being attacked. She knew instinctively that if she maintained her HP levels in a high enough level, and to keep it within the safety zone, she would never die, and that was why her fear of dying in battle, in SAO seemed irrational to her.

People still died, just like how the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] died, they died because they were overwhelmed by the monsters who were able to reduce their HP bars to zero. But what was the cause of their death? Was it because of the monsters? Were the monsters at fault for attacking them? Or was it simply because the system decreed that they would die in that scenario?

That... didn't make sense to Sachi after she went through those long hours of combat. It was wrong, because perhaps, in a way, they died because they lost to the irrational fear of dying through those numbers.

Their lives were tied to the numbers, and just like how Sachi had heard Kirito talk about how in a levelling game, the unfairness between higher-levelled players and their lower-levelled counter parts was simply numbers.

They were ruled by numbers, by how the system calculated the damage, how they took and delivered damage. This... was not death to Sachi.

The more Sachi fought, the more she experienced, and experimented, the more she was convinced of it. The [Black Cats of the Full Moon] died because they lost to the numbers of the system, the game, and was bound by their rules. It was irrational, it wasn't right, they should not fear the numbers that the system tried to dictate them to follow. Sword Art Online was a game with almost unlimited number of Sword Skills, and unlimited ways to use them. They had become accustomed to battling within the rules of what had been impressed on them just like how the monsters were.

It was... hard to wrap her mind around that concept... but it should have been easy, it should have been the first thing that one realized in this world.

This was _supposed _to be a game. It didn't hurt when she tripped, it didn't hurt when she accidentally held a sword in the wrong fashion, there was no pain, and even if there was food, and the need to relieve themselves... were they really, living, or were they really dying?

They were dying in a _game_ that translated that _death_ to reality. Sachi wasn't fighting monsters, real monsters would do their best to attack them at all cost, even if it might be trampling over others, even if they might hurt themselves in the process.

As this was a _game_, the system would want a balance fight, it would want to give the players a _chance_, if they were properly prepared and didn't go over their heads. The system was fair, and it _helped _them with their sword skills, it helped them when she followed the system, when everyone does.

Even the monsters too, they were like them, the players, they were fighting for their lives, and they followed the same example.

When the monsters died, they 'died', disintegrated into polygons just like how the players would when they 'died'.

Perhaps it wasn't wrong to call this a _game_, it was more serious than that for people would actually die in game.

Sachi was not knowledgeable in games, she rarely played them... and it was that lack of experience that made her want to simply shake her head in sadness.

Her fear was irrational after all, they weren't really fighting for their lives of their own accord. They were fighting for their lives with a system specifically designed to help them win, as well as to die.

..

Sachi couldn't relate to it, perhaps that's why she was afraid of it in the first place? How damage was calculated, how her actions would affect Sword Skills, how her stats would actually make her almost unkillable despite the Monsters obviously dealing her harm. It should hurt, it should have made her cry and quaver in fear when they attacked, but when Sachi looked at all of it from her point of view, from her understanding of the situation after fighting mindless for an entire night.

This... just made her sad, and tired. So she tried something different, she would fight like she was really fighting monsters.

So she fought as if every hit could result in her death. She could fail, she could make mistakes, but if she did, she told herself that it would hurt, that it would be painful, for it would only make her try harder to avoid that mistake. It was hard, and it might be silly, but it was something that she felt was better than the alternative.

Sachi, didn't want to lose to the system, to the irrational fear that she once had of the system. She couldn't move _then_, because she knew she would die when faced with so many monsters, and after learning about how they could be like them, how they reacted just like they would in their situation, to kill or be killed, Sachi found her friends death to be meaningless... as well as horrifying.

They hadn't lost to the monsters, they had lost to the system, and the monster.

Sachi, didn't want to lose to that, to that irrational and yet rational, predictable thing that had ruled her life in SAO without her realizing it. For it would be like if she died without meaning, without any reason whatsoever, on rules that was set for her.

She didn't want that, and so she continued stabbing on the unprotected head of the Ant Queen, forcing the system to recognize that even though unorthodox, even if it might never be accomplished before, she was indeed killing the monster in such a fashion. Sachi was sure that the designers of SAO would have imagine that this encounter would happen differently, where an entire party of players would surround the Ant Queen while dispatching the Ant horde, and subsequently cut it down even while the Ant Queen struggled to summon more of those Ants to defend her.

Instead, Sachi was slowly stabbing it to death in a critical weak point that she had created herself on top of the Ant Queen. As long as she continued holding on to it's antenna, the system would allow her to be shaken off that easily, and she could go on for as long as she wanted to. With, or without Sword Skills, Sachi would kill this Ant Queen in due time due to the system making it possible.

The other Ant monsters would not be able to attack her, or to even try to climb aboard to help their queen as it was thrashing about too wildly in it's struggle to dislodge her. It was like discovering a safe spot in the middle of a firing fight. There was no way for the Ant Queen to escape it's fate of being stabbed to death by Sachi, and perhaps the system acknowledged that as well for eventually, after it seemed like a lifetime, the Ant Queen finally had enough and slammed it's body down onto the ground, squashing a large number of the Ant horde that was supposed to defend her as well.

Sachi felt no pity, for even if they were might have similarities with the players, they were absolute prisoners of the system, the system that had cruelly enslaved them without them even realizing it.

..

'…'

Even as Sachi jumped from the Ant Queen's head as the Soldier Ants tried to swarm her again, she spotted her abandoned shield lying on the ground and she leapt for it, jumping from one ant to another before grabbing hold of it even as the Ant Queen reared it's head up to attack Sachi again. This time, the Ant Queen threw caution to the wind as she simply slammed her entire body down on her, and the mobbing Ant Monsters without hesitation even as Sachi scrambled to equip her shield properly to meet it's attack.

The system was learning from it's mistakes, but Sachi had been waiting for this moment. Or perhaps, it was just as she expected for she simply knelt down while raising both her shield and short sword above her protectively.

The Ant Queen, in it's rage, simply impaled itself on Sachi's short sword, dealing it a fatal wound with help from it's own momentum and weight despite having more than two HP bars remaining. The short sword was also lost as a result, the durability of the weapon finally decreasing to zero even as the Ant Queen disintegrated into polygons around her. Sachi on the other hand, remained damaged slightly due to her overall better stats, having a shield guarding against the attack and to top it off, having gotten rid of most of the other Ants due to them being collateral damage. The icing on the cake was that she even received the Last Attack Bonus from the Ant Queen.

Even as she raised her shield in front of her to guard herself while trying to equip a new short sword, Sachi took a quick note to see that her HP bar had just barely went into the Red zone despite taking on a field boss. Such... was the way of the system, the numbers that made it so unfair. Sachi started hating Kayaba Akihiko even more than before upon that realization.

That it was true, everything about this was meaningless... especially if the system couldn't even tell it was being tricked like this.

* * *

..

Besides the clicking and hissing sounds of the Ants still trying to attack them futilely, Klein and the [Fuurinkazan] was speechless at what they had witnessed in front of them. They couldn't believe it, no, they didn't want to believe that the frail looking girl, who had looked like she was going to faint herself was able to take down a Field Boss by herself like she had promised to do.

It had been disturbing and terrifying to see her attacking the Ant Queen on top of it's head, and although it was effective, they simply did not believe that Sachi would be able to deal enough damage to destroy it that easily and they would have to stand in.

Instead, they were greeted with how that girl had cleanly killed it and claimed victory even as the now leaderless ants scuttled about mindlessly. The battle was over, the [Ant Hill] was cleared by Sachi, just like how she said she would.

'That... what the hell WAS that?!'

Dynamm finally managed to scream even as all of them blinked back to life from the outrageous scene they had just witnessed. Sachi, for her part, snapped out of it as well and looked strangely sheepish and resigned before a Soldier Ant advanced towards her, apparently not scuttling around like the rest of it's fellow Ants before Sachi noticed the stab wounds on it's face. It was the Soldier Ant that she had been attacking at the start of the battle with the Ant Queen.

Wordlessly, she raised her shield up and charged forward, intending to repeat the same actions that had allowed her to kill so many of it's kind. Only this time, as Sachi slammed her shield into the Ant, the shield shattered, it's durability reaching it's limits as well even as Sachi's eyes open wide in shock before the Ant's jaws closed in around her in the next instant, trapping her even as the Ant squeezed her within it's jaws, chipping away at Sachi's health.

Before Klein could do anything further, there was a flash of black that covered his vision for a moment that darted towards Sachi with inhuman speed. The Soldier Ant was defeated, killed before anyone could react and in front of Sachi, was the person she had been waiting for, the **Black Swordsman**, Kirito, looking extremely relieved and more than a little sheepish when Sachi just stared up at him in shock and in disbelief.

'…'

She mumbled something to Kirito even as a blush spread across her face at being hugged by Kirito all of a sudden. Klein on the other hand, wanted to kill something in both frustration and relief as he sat down in a hurry, cursing his own soft-heart even as he wondered how this request had cost him.

In the end, the guild [Fuurinkazan] hadn't made a loss due to the sheer number of gold that the Ants had dropped, and besides, they were able to witness the first legend of a girl that refused to yield to the system. Even if he had to endure ribbing from his members that he had yet another girl stolen in front of him.

* * *

..

'Welcome back, Kii-bou, Sachi-chan.'

Argo smiled in relief even as she gave teasing grins towards the members of [Fuurinkazan], who waved their hands tiredly back at Argo. She didn't know what had happened in Sachi's little adventure, but she knew that she was more than capable of getting the information from Sachi as well later on.

Now was the time for her to pay Klein back for taking the request from her after all.

'We're back, Argo...'

Kirito gave her a small smile even as Sachi nodded back, her eyes closing a few times in her tiredness even as Klein gave a long and exasperated sigh back in greeting.

'So we finished the request that you asked us for... how about our reward eh?'

'Of course, Argo the _Rat_ always keeps her word. I've prepared some food for everyone in the Guild House. Don't worry, I asked a favor from a very good chef with A-class ingredients. Enjoy yourselves now.'

Argo knew she was going to feel the pain from this treat, but since everyone came back fine, it was worth it. Especially since there was only one A-Class Food ingredient on the table, but no one needed to know that, and technically she was saying the truth.

'Heh, glad to be of help. We got some stuff that you might be interested in too, but I guess a done deal is a done deal. Let's go in guys.'

Klein hung one arm over Kirito's shoulders before dragging the boy into the house, followed by the rest of the [Fuurinkazan]. The two girls that were left behind looked at each other briefly before Sachi bowed to Argo again, her eyes showing both relief as well as thanks for the help that she had rendered Kirito and her over the past two days.

'Thank you, Argo-san...'

'… Well, we're guild members aren't we, Sachi-chan? Well, let's get you cleaned up... and then we can join the other guys.'

Argo gave a long suffering sigh even as she pulled the tired Sachi with her upstairs to wash up.

..

Soaking in the bathtub together, the two girls were noticeably quiet, and even the normally mischievous Argo was unsure how to properly interact with the shy girl. Or perhaps ex-shy girl, for she carried herself different now. She was probably too tired to really be herself right now, and perhaps it was best to leave her alone till she settled her own thoughts.

Then again, it was also a very big stretch to have a 'celebration', seeing how her guild mates had all died and all. But there was no helping it, lives does go on... and if one allowed a small set-back to hamper their way forward, they would never be able to come out of this nightmare.

This was Argo's own philosophy and perhaps she had drawn or Sachi had been inspired by it, for it suited what Sachi had done. Kirito had perhaps recovered or hadn't been as affected as Sachi had feared, but it could have been a close thing. But the fact remained, Kirito was taking everything much better than the worse case scenario that Sachi had feared, he hadn't broken down, and he was still moving forward.

That was good, for that meant that Kirito was just as strong as the two of them had thought he to be. Perhaps the only sad thing about this entire two days, besides the death of the [Cats of the Full Moon], was how Sachi had lost her innocence.

She had seen people die, she had been forced to face her fears and had taken it to herself to change herself, to be strong, and who knows to what extent Sachi had done to do just that. What had Sachi thought, what she had agonized about, what she had gone through in order to overcome those fears and whether she was successful did not matter.

For she has taken the first step, and she was no longer the sheltered person that she was before. Over the course of perhaps 24 hours, the old Sachi was dead, replaced by the new one in front of her.

Argo's worries was whether Sachi herself accepted it, whether she could identify herself with it, and whether she could live with it, knowing that she had to make that decision, and whether that decision was the right one.

Only Sachi could decide that for herself, and that was why Argo jumped a little when Sachi spoke up.

'Argo-san...'

'Yes, Sachi-chan? But we're guild mates now, and you're the Guild leader, so call me Argo! Like how I would call you Sachi-chan~ That okay?'

Argo grinned mischievously, and she gave a smile to Sachi when she looked up from her own reflection in the water to look at Argo directly.

'Argo... -san... could you... tell me more about Sword Art Online? More... about Aincrad. I... I want to know more, about how... everything works.'

'Eh.. That's fine, but shouldn't you know all about it? You've lived in here for quite a while though.'

Argo's confusion was deepened when Sachi shook her head as she sat up even straighter, and the sight of more of Sachi's petite body being shown to her was enough to cause Argo to blink in embarrassment as well as jealousy. Sachi wasn't the most endowed or was one with the best figure, but she had quite a decent one, with curves at the right places, protrusions in the right areas that wasn't too small or too vulgar. Skin being flawless was a side effect of the game being made this way, so that didn't count. But there was no mistaking that Sachi was quite an attractive girl and Argo found herself staring before frowning at Sachi.

'You don't understand? We're in Aincrad... and if I don't know what you are referring to, I can't tell you anything.'

Argo sighed, but then she choked when Sachi repeated her request.

'I want to know everything, the legends, the stories, the monsters, the levels, the rumours... everything.'

'T-That's going to cost yo-! I mean, I mean, really? Everything? Isn't there something specific that you want to know?'

Argo spluttered even as she reacted instinctively to a request for information. The deal she made with Sachi to join the guild was looking like a very regrettable deal. Even if Sachi had brought back a considerable amount of gold due to her time in the [Ant Hill], more than enough to cover her expenses for the Chef that had prepared the food for them, it was looking like a very horrible deal all over again.

'Then... I want to know more about the mechanics, how things worked... How we fight, what the monsters are, what they do, everything you have, Argo.'

Sachi replied slowly and purposefully even as Argo continued to stare at her.

'Why? Why would you want to know that, Sachi-chan?'

'Because I want to be sure... I want to be sure, that this is a game.'

'What are you talking about, this _isn't _a game, Sachi-chan! Your friends the-'

Argo stopped before she stepped on a landmine, but Sachi's response made her eyes widen again as Sachi shook her head.

'No, this _is_ a game. My friends, they died because of a _game_. I need to know, Argo-san... please... help me.'

* * *

..

'So, what do you think about what your girlfriend did, Kirito?'

Klein sounded like he was joking, but his expression was dead serious as he leaned back on one of the couch in the guildhouse. His fellow guild members, those who had seen what Sachi had achieved as well was capable of nodded their heads in agreement to Klein's words.

That girl was either crazy, or was simply paying no heed to her life by doing those actions. Sure, she had gotten out of this alive, but it was simply because they were much higher level than the Ant Queen and the other monsters of the [Ant Hill].

Kirito, for his part, looked confused before he looked troubled while running a hand through his hair. He had arrived at where the members of the [Fuurinkazan] had been blocking and guarding the choke-point in record time after simply running past most of the monsters who tried to attack her.

He had been in time to see Sachi's last attack, an improvised but very effective attack that had sheared off the boss's two HP bar easily. Although a part of him wanted to applaud Sachi's methods in defeating the Field Boss like that, he had been more than confused and disturbed by the change in Sachi's behaviour after only one day.

Kirito was still feeling the effects of what had happened yesterday, and had taken all of it very hard. Keita's death especially so, since he had taken his life in front of him. Kirito had been allowed to grieve on his own last night, and it had helped him to settle his emotions down. Sachi on the other hand, hadn't, as far as he could tell, Sachi had just went off by herself to train. Argo told him that Sachi did that to help him, because she didn't want to be a burden any further. Kirito didn't want anything to happen to Sachi, and he admitted that his grief and sadness had been swept aside the moment he learnt that Sachi was perhaps in danger. That had taken his first priority, and not for the first time, he wondered that his feelings for Sachi was simply greater than what he wanted to admit.

For it was those feelings that had allowed him to save Sachi, perhaps at the cost of their friend's lives. It was silly, and perhaps wishful thinking to think that he could have done more in that situation. But the moment the alarm trap was rang, Kirito knew it was helpless and he had instinctively covered Sachi. Perhaps that wasn't true. Perhaps when he had sensed danger, he had wanted to protect Sachi instinctively, hence saving her life.

His guilt came from hiding his truth from them, hence indirectly resulting in the loss of their lives when they took a huge risk to farm in a more dangerous area then they were prepared or ready for. There was no safety zone for the lower levelled members of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] unlike him, who was more than ready to face the dungeon, even alone by himself.

But the Sachi he remembered was not the Sachi that he had seen face the Ant Queen by herself, almost mechanically as she set-up the final killing blow for the field boss without any hesitation. It... reminded him of how he was like before, when he was a _solo_ player after being criticized for not helping out as much as she could during the Boss Battle at the 25th floor. How the people had commented him on being able to kill the humanoid monsters too easily, and wondered whether he would be able to cut down a player just as easily as well.

Monsters and players, they were different after all, and Kirito could never kill a player that easily. But Kirito finally understood what those players meant when they whispered to each other. Sachi, she looked like she would be more than capable to kill a player with that steely look in her eyes.

..

'… I don't know, Klein...'

Kirito finally admitted, causing his friend to elbow him playfully in reflex.

'So not even saying that she isn't your girlfriend eh? You player you. But at least with you out of the market, I might have a chance now.'

'Oi, you're admitting that you don't have a chance now, Klein?'

Even as Klein spluttered and swore at his guild mates, who was laughing at his expense, Kirito could only blush while shaking his head.

'… I don't know what she feels about me.'

'Oi oi, she obviously got the hots for you.'

Dynamm grinned even as he commented crudely, Harry One plunging yet another knife into Klein even as he said that she wasn't the only one.

'That aside, Kirito... was she always like that? She wasn't like that before, right?'

As Klein shook off the jabs at his own attractiveness, he turned serious again as Kirito shook his head.

'No, she's... she was never good as a forward. Even if we had trained a little, and she was getting better... She never went out alone... and would never engage the monsters first.'

Kirito admitted even as Dynamm shook his head while telling him about what Sachi had been doing as the temporary forward for their team.

'She... stabbed them man! As in really stabbed! She didn't even use Sword Skills half the time, she just... stabbed it. And stabbed it again, she just kept stabbing it like it was overcooked MEAT! It was... It was scary man!'

Dynamm shuddered while Kirito simply looked confused and Klein took the boy out of his misery by saying that Sachi was a very scary individual to them.

'She... Sorry man, I just have one thing to say. Sachi... she scares the hell out of us man.'

Klein wasn't going to tell Kirito that he thought her girlfriend was mad or crazy, he knew what discretion was. Besides, Klein didn't want Sachi after him, even if she was definitely cute girl. But it was also unmistakable that none of them wanted to face her in a duel. Sachi would no doubt be a great asset to any party, what with her being more than capable to hold a mob's attention, but how she despatched of her foes was... for lack of a better word, disturbing.

'Sachi... does?'

Kirito looked genuinely confused even as Klein and the rest sighed before he patted his shoulders.

'For once, I'm glad I'm not in your shoes man!'

Klein chuckled at the clueless expression on his head, both relieved and happy that his friend was at least his usual dense self as always.

* * *

**Author's Notes: The next chapter should be the end of the first arc, now it's time to make things interesting. So, if you'll give me comments on this arc in general, I'll be very glad.**

**And once again, the story that I prefer to write about isn't as popular as the other one, which I'm kinda, well, not regretting, but lost some drive for. But I'll keep on chugging, so let's start the reviews flowing, shall we? Aha~  
**


	7. The 'System'

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 7—The 'System'**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Ahhh.. I should retcon the part about the Guild thing. Let's just have the Word of God from the Author that the level problem is totally retconned magically, somehow!**

**This is the final chapter of the first arc of 'Shield and Swords', I can't promise how long the rest of the story would be, or how many arcs there are. I think it'll depend on how the next two scenes work out.**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

Klein and his buddies had spent the entire dinner teasing the two of them and about their relationship. It was true that Kirito viewed Sachi as special, and he really cared for her.

But what about her? What did she feel? It wasn't that he was not brave enough to confess to her, but was this really the right time? Heck, was confessing in SAO the right time at all in the first place? Kirito didn't know, and even if he had faith that Sachi felt the same for him, he didn't feel that this was the right time. Especially since the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] was lost, they had died... and there was only the two of them, with the surprising addition of Argo into the guild.

Argo had pointedly ignored or had simply redirected any queries that anyone had on why she joined their guild, and from how Sachi had not said much at all during dinner, Kirito wasn't going to have much luck in that avenue as well.

Kirito was also glad that the [Fuurinkazan] had dinner with them after all, since Sachi was as quiet as always, and Argo seemed to be busy as well as in her own thoughts, Kirito knew dinner time was going to be very awkward. With them around however, he was able to at least partially replicate what had always been the bonding moment for the [Black Cats of the Full Moon]. The only exception was how there was the noticeable lack of alcohol during dinner. Keita really liked alcohol, and as result dinner-time could get a little out of control with his tendencies to get a little drunk.

The few times he had gotten Sachi to drink, the poor girl had been unable to cope with the alcohol and had ended up sleeping on his lap instead, much to his embarrassment.

Thankfully it didn't happen, even if Argo did usher Sachi up relatively for the girl to rest, leaving the rest of the guys behind to chat about things going on in SAO.

Kirito was also glad that Klein didn't ask him about what had happened to the [Cats of the Full Moon]. Argo had been an exception as she had been taking care of him for the entire time, but Klein, despite him being a good friend and someone who probably deserved to know, it was still hard.

It might take a while, but Kirito promised Klein that he would tell him what happened eventually, something that his friend accepted.

..

Of course, the conversation had eventually turned back to battles in the front line. Since Kirito had left the front lines for quite a while, he was unaware that they were going to challenge the 48th boss soon, and that they would really could use his help in the front-lines right now.

The **Black Swordsman** had always been present during all of their boss fights, but since his disappearance from the front-lines for the last two months, his presence had been surprisingly missed. Kirito assumed that it was due to his solo nature that he was able to cover more ground, fight harder, and to grind at areas longer than the average party could, much to their chagrin.

It was also true that he by himself was a formidable force to reckon with, and with all those factors, with him participating in the boss battle for the 48th floor was always a given.

But now that Klein saw what had happened, he felt that it was better to ask Kirito first. Even if the front-liners still held some resentment for the _beaters_, it was also true that most of the beaters had became one of them, aligned to the few top guilds or within the Clearer groups that had formed ever since the losses in the 25th floor.

Kirito was also one the only few solo players who were in the front lines. The others were either recruited, or were in the midst of being recruited by the top guilds even as they speak.

It was because Kirito had laid low and disappeared before the radar before the recruitment drive could kick off that he was spared.

Klein knew that Kirito would probably brush off everyone, but it was still something he should know about.

As expected, Kirito had no interest in joining another guild, or even to split up from the guild that he belonged to. He was the highest level in the guild after all, and even if Sachi's level was quite decent, it was still a little lower than what was accepted in the clearer group. Argo was an exception, people would die to recruit her into a guild due to her information gathering. But knowing Kirito, even if Argo was part of his guild, he wouldn't force her to do anything and she would continue free-lancing per the norm. It was probably for the best too, but Klein still gave Kirito a friendly warning about how things would change soon if he left the front-lines for too long.

..

_'The atmosphere there is getting bad... there aren't people dying yet... but the guilds are fighting amongst themselves... I reckon we'll see a fight break up soon amongst them, power struggles and all that... that'll make it harder for the clearer group to work together. You know of Heathcliff? The leader of the Knights of the Blood? He's trying his best to keep things calm, but... some people just don't like to follow orders from others.'_

..

It was a lot to take in at once, and Kirito had spent some time thinking about his options before falling asleep. That was why, despite it being very late at night when someone knocked on his door, he was able to answer the door almost immediately.

Was it also due to how he had done so many times, or was he simply waiting for the inevitable moment when Sachi would seek him out again to talk.

'Sachi...'

Whatever Kirito wanted to say to Sachi was lost as he froze where he stood, staring at Sachi, who simply blushed before slipping into the room uninvited to stand behind him.

Kirito, for his part, could only swallow nervously as he closed the door behind him numbly. The reason for his shock was what Sachi was wearing at the door when he greeted her, or rather, the lack of what Sachi was wearing as he turned to look at Sachi again.

She was wearing nothing more than a little purple nightgown, as she looked down at her feet nervously.

'S-Sachi... W-What are you doing...?'

Kirito asked dumbly even as Sachi flushed even more. There was no mistaking what Sachi was thinking, but Kirito's mind couldn't really accept what was going on. This was Sachi, this the shy girl that he liked, and right now, was the very attractive woman in front of him that was now touching his hands, before reaching up to caress his cheeks.

That small action was enough to cause Kirito to blush redder than before, and despite him having the willpower to pull his straying gaze away from her, it wasn't enough to make him push Sachi away either.

'K-Kirito-kun.'

Sachi finally spoke, and her soft voice made Kirito swallow again in nervousness as she made him look down at him again by softly guiding his chin with her fingers. Her fingers felt soft, and when Sachi took a step forward towards him, Kirito did the opposite, backing away from her. They repeated themselves till Kirito found himself pressed against the door even as Sachi slowly rested her face against his chest, and then subsequently the rest of her body on him as well.

Literally pinned to the wall by Sachi, Kirito knew instinctively that if he wanted to, he could push her away and demand answers from Sachi as to what this was about. But he was a guy after all, and Sachi was a _very _attractive girl to Kirito.

So he kept still even as Sachi nuzzled against his chest softly for comfort, and even if Kirito knew that it _would_ feel much better if they were on a bed now, he wanted to banish those thoughts away from his mind immediately upon thinking about it. This was both heaven and hell for Kirito.

..

After some time, which to Kirito was an eternity, Sachi looked up to him, her eyes showing relief before she spoke his name again.

'Kirito-kun... I-I'm so glad...'

'… Sachi?'

'I'm glad... that you didn't push me away... that you didn't give up... Kirito-kun, you're... amazing as always.'

Sachi spoke softly even as she moved away from Kirito, her hands trailing down his sides till she was just standing in front of him, her eyes looking down again as she confessed to him.

'I'm not, I... I failed you, and Kieta... and everyone else. I lied to everyone, Sachi.'

'I knew of your real strength, Kirito-kun... One night, when you thought that I was asleep, I saw you looking at your status screen...'

'Sachi...'

'So... it wasn't your fault... and Kirito-kun, you used your full strength when we fell into the trap didn't you? I... it was not your fault, Kirito-kun... It... was our...'

Sachi paused, and Kirito was there in a heartbeat, resting a hand on her shoulders even as she struggled to continue. Kirito wanted to tell her to stop, but she had raised a finger to his lip before she shook his head at him.

'L-Let me finish, Kirito-kun... Please?'

Kirito wanted to say no, because it would hurt, it would definitely hurt the two of them if she said it so bluntly. But he vastly underestimated Sachi who simply took a deep breath and said that it was their fault.

'It was our fault. We... were too confident, we didn't think about what would happen. Yes, Kirito-kun, it was our fault and...and I don't want you to say so otherwise.'

Sachi's eyes had gotten hard, and her voice had the same effect. Sachi had obviously thought this true long before she had knocked on the door, and for some reason, Kirito couldn't help but inhale again at how beautiful Sachi was now.

'We didn't believe Kirito-kun, we... believed that we would be fine... because we treated this like a _game_.'

This time Kirito did react, for that wasn't true at all. They were in a death game, where people died, and where you lose, you died.

'Sachi, s-stop!'

'I have to say this, Kirito-kun... it's the truth... we... are treating this like a _game_. We didn't believe we would die... and even if I was scared of it... scared of dying, I..., no we... we were all guilty of it... Sword Art Online, it isn't a game, it just isn't...'

Sachi's hold on Kirito was getting tighter than ever, and Kirito could feel her trembling, only this time it's not in fear, it was in anger.

'But the system treats it like a game, Kirito-kun. If there is someone at fault, it's the system.'

'T-The system?'

Kirito was right to be confused, for he had no idea what Sachi was talking about. Sachi however, sounded and looked confident as she continued with a very sad smile on her face that slowly turned grim as she spoke slowly.

'The system... is... SAO, Kirito-kun... we're... fighting for our lives... but the system, treats us like the monsters that we are fighting... everything is predetermined, everything... is about numbers, everything, from how we die, and how we win... and how we fight... how much of it, is controlled by the system? We... even if, even if we know it's not a game... we are already playing a game... SAO _is_ a game, Kirito-kun... and right now, we are _still _playing it... That's what killed Keita, Ducker... everyone. We died because of the system, because we followed it blindly, and... I... I can't accept that. I refuse to... refuse to believe that, to accept that... their deaths are meaningless.'

Kirito couldn't fully follow what Sachi meant about what the 'system' was, and why it made their friend's death meaningless till Sachi continued.

'K-Kirito-kun... I... when I was fighting by myself, when... I was getting better... I asked myself. What made me different from the monsters that I killed, in the end... I couldn't find any difference. Do we have somewhere to go after all? What if all this was a lie? What if... we didn't exist? What if all our memories were a lie... things like that. Aha...'

That was enough to cause Kirito to pull Sachi into a hug, to run a hand through her hair as she asked her what was she thinking to ever come up with that conclusion. It was wrong, they were living, breathing people and even he could remember what his family was like, what he had lost, everything!

'We ARE alive, Sachi, we will escape this, and we will go back to the real world. I.. I promised you, and I will make it happen.'

Kirito's panicked eyes, as well as how he tried to reassure her was a huge relief to Sachi, who giggled softly even as she hugged him back lightly, her hands wrapping around his waist tightly and not letting go.

'I don't doubt that, Kirito-kun is strong, stronger then I could ever imagine... but to the system, we are the same. We... are alive, but so are they. They live... and they die in the same manner as us... we are nothing but data here, we... our minds are connected to the Nervegear, and the only difference we have is that our real bodies are in control, and the monsters are controlled by SAO... I... thought so hard about it, and I could only come up with this answer. All of us... we have... been playing a game after all. A cruel, insane... and stupid game by a mad man.'

..

Sachi's voice had grown cold, hard, and was filled with anger at the end. Kirito didn't blame her, after listening to Sachi's explanation as well as her thought process, even he was mad. Mad because it made sense, and it might be the truth after all. So what if he was good at the game, what he was getting stronger, and better, and was at the top of the Clearers? Sachi was right, they were all playing a _game_ to the system. The system of SAO, whatever it was, calculated everything by numbers after all. Kirito himself knew how important, and how big a difference levels and numbers in essence were in games. If a game implemented a Levelling system, the only difference one needs was the difference in levels. No matter how strong he gets, there would always be something better than him in SAO, a program, a monster, someone else, because the system decides so. Even if he was better at a sword, even if he might have better strategies, it might all be undone because of the differences in numbers.

Just like how Kirito was able to help Sachi escape the alarm trap, his level was so much higher than the monsters that attacked them that he could ignore them when they attacked him.

This was similar to how he believed that even if he did not interfere earlier, Sachi would still be able to get free of the Soldier Ant eventually.

That... was what Sachi meant, and that revelation was enough to cause Kirito's knees to weaken, and for Sachi to be his support instead.

..

Kirito didn't realize that they were on his bed before it was too late, and Sachi was now straddling him, her legs beside him and keeping them there even as she looked down at him. Her face was flushed, and there was no doubt that his was too as Sachi apologized to him and thanked him as well.

'I'm sorry for telling you all that, Kirito-kun... but... but I just wanted you to know what...what I feel, what I thought about when everyone died... It hurts, it still hurts, and it would forever hurt... but Kirito-kun, I... I don't want it to end like this. So please, Kirito-kun... will you keep your promise? Won't you promise me again? That you would save me, that you would help me, and all of us from this mad world?'

Kirito could remember when he had made that promise to her, and how it had made her eyes light up in relief, like she was been saved. She was desperate then, unable to go on without something to cling to. Right now however, Sachi wanted confirmation, her eyes were already set perhaps her goals too, but she still wanted to know what was he going to do. Was he going to give up now that his entire world was probably turned upside down? Or would he continue fighting?

The answer was obvious and he nodded his head and promised Sachi that he would do that.

'I'll save you, Sachi, I'll save everyone... As long as we still have hope, we can do it. We'll beat this game and escape, even if you might be right... I'll find a way... or you will... you're amazing too.'

Kirito's surprising praise made Sachi flush and she sat up suddenly in surprise at what he said like she was burned.

'K-Kirito-kun?'

'You discovered something that even I didn't realize... and, just because of that, I... we will make a difference. I... I know we can. It's hard, it'll be even more difficult when it gets harder... but, Sachi... let's fight together. We... we have to go to the front lines... I... I'm going back there, will you come with me?'

Kirito's mind wandered to what had been discussed before, and this time his mind was made up as he reached for Sachi's hands and held it firmly in his.

'Would you, Sachi? I... I would really like it if you came.'

Kirito admitted shyly, softly this time, and he was the one surprised when Sachi confessed to him suddenly.

'I like you, Kirito-kun.'

'Sachi...?'

'I always have, and... I love you. ... and, I want you to know this... even if you don't feel the same for me, even if you might... not accept me... I will still love you, my feelings... they can't be ignored, and I cannot, not tell you. Even if it's wrong, even if it might be a lie... Kirito-kun, I'll go where-ever you ask me to.'

Sachi leaned closer, and when her soft lips met his, there was no going back for all the suppressed feelings that the two of them had for each other was unleashed in one go. His hands was at her waist, pushing her down without even thinking even as Sachi hungrily kissed him back, their tongues playing with each other till they broke away from their first kiss and onto the next, and then the next, not even stopping, or caring what noises they were making. All they cared about was each other, and each other's desperate panting, or barely muffled cries of pleasure when they became one lasted for the rest of the night.

Every touch felt wonderful, and even if it was awkward at the start, even if their own actions was embarrassing, even if this might not be what they planned for and even if Kirito never did confess to Sachi that night, their relationship invariably changed that night.

* * *

..

'Fuu fuu fuu.'

Argo gave the two, Kirito and Sachi meaningful looks as they descended the stairs together. At least the two of them had the grace to look embarrassed, but more tellingly so was how the two of them still looked quite exhausted.

'You two made quite a din last night.'

Argo's teasing grin made the two of them look away, unable to look at her even as she continued to smirk at the two while enjoying breakfast that she had made.

'At least someone had fun last night, as for poor me, I had to comfort myself while being kept awake the _whole _night_~'_

Kirito blushed at the innuendo that Argo made even as Sachi frowned as she sat down on the seat beside Argo.

'Well... we can share if Argo really wanted.'

This was enough to cause Argo to get unsettled for a brief moment before she turned the tables back on Sachi. Kirito on the other hand, was coughing badly as he tried to stop himself from choking on the slice of bread he was chewing on before.

'Oho~ So Sachi-chan is okay with that? What if I said that I would rather have you instead?'

Argo made Sachi give a small squeal of surprise as she groped her on the chest, causing Kirito to bolt and to leave the two girls to their own devices even as Argo laughed helplessly at the chaos she created.

'… So did you tell him?'

Argo whispered sternly even as Sachi's features hardened as well. Sachi had filled in Argo with what she had thought about, and although it seemed ridiculous, it also made sense. But it was also true that there was no way that they could defy the system out-rightly as well. This was Aincrad after all, and it was a world that was generated, maintained and created by the 'system', as Sachi had described it to be.

'Yes, I did, Argo-san... He believed me... but I agree with you, I don't think we can do anything bout this at the moment... I'm trying in my own way... but maybe it's impossible... to defy the system after all.'

..

Argo had listened to how Sachi had described to her how she had observed the monsters behaving in a mob, and had used that to her advantage during her training expedition. It might prove to be a good reference, and a good guide on how she could deal with mobs in higher levels. Argo hadn't quite believed that the monsters were alive, just like how NPCs were alive, but NPCs does truly live. They had limited intelligence, and they respawned if they were killed. But it was also true that some NPCs does remember her when she visited them and even had conversations with her that showed that they were still 'living' like she did.

It was of course difficult for one to put that knowledge in a practical application, except how Sachi described as the 'system' giving her a fighting chance when she was fighting alone with the mobs. There seemed to be a limit as to how many mobs a single person was able to engage in or to lure at a single time. It could be due to the size of the monsters, for examples there could only be a maximum of 6 wolves at a single time, while for the ants there could only be around 4 of them but even knowing that was enough to know that there were limitations to the system.

Logically, Sachi reasoned that there should be more wolves who were allowed to attack them, for example those that would try to pounce at her from a distance, those wolves that were weakened should logically back away from the battle to allow another to take place.

But that wasn't observed, and the injured wolves will continued attacking her even if it's death was the guaranteed result if it kept on fighting. That flew in the face of common sense, and it was something that separated them from players, who were independent and not part of the will of the 'system'.

That constant itself was also how players would engage monsters if they outnumbered them. By making openings for one's partner, one could attack monsters without of them being put at risk. They call it 'switching', and it was a method of levelling that was still very popular as it was the most effective way to level in a party.

There was however a few practical applications of what Sachi's discovery, and that was that the 'system' was able to recognize 'critical' areas, like the eyes and the mouth, soft spots between armours, and would still calculate damage modifiers based on what the monster was subjected to. The latter was hard to explain, but basically monsters, like players, was subjected to the law of physics in Aincrad.

The Ant Queen had been killed not by the damage that Sachi's short sword had dealt to it, it was felled by the combination of a critical damage at being pierced through by the short sword that was calculated by the force of it's own attack and weight. The short sword might have broken from the impact, but the damage was done anyway. It could be called a fluke, for it wasn't technically an attack on Sachi's part, but since the Ant Queen's 'attack' was targeted at her, and Sachi responded in kind, the damage was apparently calculated normally

Sachi survived due to the blocking skill, which was able to soften the damage from the Ant Queen. Then again, even if she was subjected to the weight of the Ant Queen and it's attack, she had already proven that she could take one hit from the earlier hit.

The 'system' works in mysterious ways, but that also meant that there were plenty of loopholes to abuse. Loopholes that Sachi and Argo was planning to learn how to utilize with Kirito-kun's help.

'… I won't allow their death to be meaningless, Argo-san.'

Sachi swore to Argo even as the information dealer gave her an apologetic smile in reply. The dead was gone, and there was nothing they could do about it... but they could draw lessons from it. Sachi just hoped that it wasn't too late... and that, her friends would forgive her for getting over them so easily.

No, that wasn't right... she was sorry for growing strong only after they left. For their deaths was the one thing that shaped her life the most, for better or for worse, she didn't know. But Sachi was going to find out, her real journey begins now.

* * *

**Author's Notes: R&R would be greatly appreciated!**


	8. Skipping Forward

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 8—Skipping Forward**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Time for a time skip. Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

When one talked about the [Black Cats of the Full Moon], a small guild in Aincrad that was part of the clearer groups, the first comment would usually be how small the Guild was as compared to the rest of the Clearer groups. That was because there were only three members in the Guild, and while there were rumours going on that there was actually supposed to be more members in the guild, no one has never seen any other members besides the three that was now famous throughout the land.

There were also rumours going on about how those members were killed in an unsuccessful boss raid, or how they had sacrificed themselves so that the weaker members could escape. Those members then grew stronger till they were formally recognized by the front-liners, and clearers with their strength.

Another set of rumours detailed that the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] were actually totally wiped out save for the sole female member before the **Black Swordsman **joined her and trained her to be the player she was today.

Of course, another set of rumours scoffed at that, seeing how the **Black Swordsman** always seemed to be the one following _her_ and not the other way around. What was generally agreed on though was that most of the rumours came from the last member of the Black Cats, Argo the _Rat_ herself, so as to which one was the truth, one couldn't quite be sure.

There was one thing to be certain about the guild though, that they were one of the most respected clearer groups in the front-lines. They were not the strongest despite having one of the most powerful players of the game within their ranks, but they were definitely the one that everyone had heard of, for their deeds and accomplishments had affected many players through Aincrad itself.

..

First of all the Guild Leader, Sachi of the _Iron Steel Wall_, the _Iron Devil, _and the best forward/tanker of the game, and if not for the title of best shield user given to the leader of the Knights of the Blood, Heathcliff, she would indisputably be the best shield user a well.

It was said that she was famous for not giving ground and even if she was unable to replicate Heathcliff's claim of not having his HP bar diminished below the green level, Sachi was renowned for her ability to hold, handle and keep the attention of an entire army of monsters by herself without the use of Healing Crystals.

Then again, the rumours had it that Sachi had never been seen using a healing crystal even once, preferring to use potions instead during the heat of battle. Just the thought of someone using less than instantaneous healing items in battle was insane, but Sachi of the _Iron Steel Wall_ made it seem simple for she even used those potions in boss fights.

Her title was also given due to how she was the first person that had been able to fully nullify a boss's attack, a shocking feat that saved the lives of several players when she did so for the first time, it was however a feat that Heathcliff later replicated in another boss fight together with her.

Her other title however... one would understand if one saw her fight for real.

Ever since the inclusion of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] in the most memorable and insane level 48th boss battle, there had been many players who were saved by the combination of Sachi as well as Heathcliff working in tandem to draw the attention of the boss as the clearers attacked the boss themselves, and there had been no losses in the ranks of the clearers ever since then.

Together they formed what seemed to be an impenetrable defence against the boss's attacks, regardless of how powerful they seemed to be, it would always be blocked or nullified by their shields. It was perhaps unfair to compare Sachi with Heathcliff, who was a much better shield user than she was, but unlike Heathcliff, she was also the only forward capable of finding dead corners that the boss would be unable to attack her with.

Her unorthodox fighting methods, which does not depend on Sword Skills was also something that all the players looked up to her for.

..

If Heathcliff and Sachi together formed the unbreakable shield of the clearer guild, the second member of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] the **Black Swordsman** Kirito when teamed up with Sachi would be the ultimate offense with the ultimate defense.

The two players were fellow guild members, but their teamwork was also said to be legendary for they were able to clear entire dungeons with the two of them, a feat normally reserved only for an entire group of clearers.

..

The **Black Swordsman** had been infamous before, but his legend had turned for the better when he turned up again following a few month's absence together with the Black Cats. His skill with the swords were already well known, but coupled together with Sachi, the two of them was more than sufficient for the field bosses that might block their way into the boss room. Even in the few times that Sachi teamed up with Kirito for a boss fight, they were always in the thick of the action.

The secret of their teamwork was rumoured to how they were able to deviate from the traditional offensive 'switching' strategy to a more reactive one. Instead of two players taking on the offensive to overwhelm the monster, they were able to use the monster's offensives against them. With Sachi able to block, parry or to even push back their enemies, Kirito would sweep into them and destroy them with his powerful attacks. It was a strategy that was totally different from what the players were able to do, and although replicated successfully with a few teams, they were never quite as successful as the duo from the Black Cats of the Full Moon. He was also famous for his **one sword**, **no shield build**, which really didn't quite make sense till one considered how Kirito would never need to use a shield when Sachi was _his_ shield.

..

But the one legend that truly spread their name through Aincrad was the role that the Guild played in the destruction of the PK Guild, the [Laughing Coffin]. Rumours and legend has it that when the _Iron Steel Wall_ was holding off three separate members of the player-killing guild, the **Black Swordsman** was defeating the elite group of the guild who had tried to gang up on them by himself.

Their actions single-handedly saved the team that had tried to arrest the members of [Laughing Coffin] from having any deaths of their own. Even if the **Black Swordsman** and the _Iron Steel Wall_ was forced to kill a few members who did not surrender, the players were able to forgive them for their actions and not condemn them, for they had saved several lives by their actions. The members were thrown into the prisons where they would stay for the rest of the duration of the game. Their actions, as well as how they had came to the aid of weaker players who had been targeted by the [Laughing Coffin] won them great praise from the players in all the floors.

But this particular chapter would talk about a small encounter that was never discussed amongst the people, a story that even Argo wasn't fully aware of all the details. The first meeting of the [Knights of the Blood] and [The Black Cats of the Full Moon] before their legend grew in the land.

* * *

..

'I already told you that the dungeon was unstable! Now look at what you guys did! We need to map the whole area again!'

Kirito winced as Argo nagged at her over the messaging channel. It was always useful to chat over the channel, it was like having a cellphone all over again. Kirito was just thankful that Argo was able to take his call for he knew that she was always very busy sorting and sourcing for information due to the nature of her occupation.

'Anyway, now that you ruined the map we had of the dungeon, you will be responsible to map it all over again. It's not like you have anything to do today, right?'

Argo's words made Kirito squirm even as he looked back at his companion, Sachi, who was checking her equipment with a laid back expression on her face.

'Welll... I was hoping of catching a quick nap...'

Kirito admitted guiltily even as he heard Argo taking a deep breath from over at her end, before she screamed at Kirito at being an idiot.

'DO IT BEFORE THE SUN SETS OR YOU WON'T GET DINNER!'

Argo's scream made Kirito wince even harder as he massaged his ears to try and soothe his poor ear drums. At this rate, he'll go deaf!

'Besides, Sachi is with you right? There's no way that the two of you are in danger, she will protect you after all.'

Kirito could already imagine Argo grinning over her side as he sighed in agreement.

'That's true, honestly I don't think anyone can compare to her besides Heathcliff now.'

It had only been a full month since Sachi had shown her desire to join Kirito in the front lines, and ever since then, she had practised long and hard on being the best forward/ tanker that she could be. It was thankful that the Ant Queen did drop quite a valuable shield for her to use, a shield that actually suited her a lot due to how light it was, but at the same time it was also quite small compared to the other shields. It was called the [Ancient Carapace] and as it was a boss drop, allowed itself to be upgraded for around twice the amount of a normal shield, making it extremely useful despite being dropped by a level 15 Field boss.

Sachi's skill and ability as a forward had improved so much that Kirito was more than a little awed at how Sachi was able to hold the lines of the monsters in front of her as well as she could. Kirito felt that the most important part of a forward was spirit, and bravery. Even if he couldn't quite classify Sachi as being brave, he should classify Sachi as being suicidal for he had noticed that Sachi almost never really kept a close eye on her HP.

It was said that there were three levels of understanding as a player, the first level was a player who was able to see their own statistics in a general term, and thus allowing the player to do some minor tweaks of their own build. The same level of understanding would make those players rely on how the HP bar changed color, from green to red, to signify what stage their HP would be at.

The second level of understanding would allow those players to know exactly when, and where to park their skills and stats in order to better efficiently use their stats in their respective levels. It would also give them a wider range of how they monitored HP, ranging from: 'Good to go', 'Got to watch my HP', 'Time to replenish some HP', 'Retreat!' , at least informally.

Finally, the veterans of SAO would belong to the final level of players, those who have such understanding of the game that they would be able to do damage calculations, to be able to know of different save margins for different situations in an instant, and thus was able to know when and where to give up and to fall back.

Kirito was one of those players, and even if he was not used to a tank build, he knew that Sachi didn't have kind of knowledge or understanding of the game. Or... did she?

..

Sachi still couldn't defend or parry as well as he could, but since Sachi had sank more into the battle regeneration skill first, there was no helping it. One thing that Kirito was amazed to find out was that Sachi was one of the few individuals with the [Shield] Mastery as part of her skills. The ability allowed her to use skill associated with the shield, skills which Sachi used with impunity together with her unorthodox battling methods.

Like Klein before him, Kirito had been more than a little disturbed to see Sachi attacking the monsters with such ferocity as well as brutality. As Sachi didn't use sword skills unless she had to, preferring to use her short sword to deal debilitating damage to her foes, she really looked like she was murdering the mobs with her actions.

Sachi had also been the one to discover and verify together with Argo the fact that the system does recognize critical and crucial areas in monsters which would deal more damage when applying the damage calculations. It was such a notable find that it revolutionized the way the players execute their attacks. Even Kirito benefited, for as per his preferred style of quick and powerful slashes, it was notably easier for him to identify and attack the enemies with his swords than the other players.

Sachi's own style was also based on that and even if Kirito did acknowledge that Sachi was trying to defeat the 'system' in it's own game, not all of Sachi's gambit had paid off.

But it was still a notable effort and Sachi's own confidence had grown ever since her success on the fields closer to the front line with Kirito. Of course, Kirito was torn between deciding that Sachi was just too confident and stubbornly focused on her role as a forward, or simply didn't think it was worth her time. All of the options had their pros and cons, and Kirito found himself unable to question Sachi on her methods.

Ever since that night, which he had been unable to confess to her, Kirito did realize and acknowledge that Sachi truly did have feelings for him. He was happy and at the same time was confused, for he wasn't sure his love for her stretched that deep and profoundly as hers did. Kirito was not afraid of breaking his promise, he still believed in his dream of leaving this place, and the loss of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] simply made him even more determined after he repeated his promise to Sachi. He would help her escape with his own power, this he promised her.

..

Sadly though, the two's relationship hadn't progressed as much as he hoped, mostly due to his own inaction. The first few days had been spent helping Argo to shift her own stuff over to the guild-house, to tidy it up a bit as well as to hold their first ever official guild-meeting amongst it's members.

Argo had surprisingly been happy and even delighted to know that Sachi would continue to be the Guild member, but her intentions were soon clear soon after when Argo asked if she could use the Guild as a base to hold her operations for information trading and gathering.

Since Sachi was fine with that, their guild has became the pseudo go-to place for information for all players. Argo had also been happy to accept Sachi's terms that 5% of her profits would go for the guild's use, while she offered a 15% discount to players who were level 30 and below. Sachi still wanted to help the lower levelled players after all, seeing that she was one of them before trying to promote herself to the front lines herself.

To be fully honest with himself, Kirito was unable to decide whether he should be happy about Sachi taking an active role, for it had changed the timid and shy girl that he was used to into a stronger one that he was proud and happy to call his companion. On the other end of the spectrum, he was also more than a little worried about the changes that he observed in Sachi ever since she had confessed to him that night.

Gone was the quiet and timid girl, she was still quiet, but even if she continued spending lots of time reflecting by herself, Kirito knew that she was thinking about different things than what she used to reflect on. He knew this because Sachi would sometimes scrunch her features while thinking, a sign of distress before her facial features relaxed again. Whatever she was thinking about would more or less be reflected on her face when she was alone, but when she was in the battle field with him, Sachi kept her expression painfully blank.

It was as if she didn't want to show weakness to her enemies, or perhaps she was simply suppressing her fear of them? Kirito wasn't sure, but if she was doing that to unnerve her enemies, they were unnerving even him as well.

..

'What did Argo-san say, Kirito-kun?'

Sachi called out softly even as she gave Kirito a smile when he walked back towards her. Besides her stranger personality quirks in battle or when she was alone, she was still the same old Sachi that he liked, and that reassured him a lot. Kirito wouldn't say that he would not love the new Sachi if she really changed, but it was still something that made him doubt as to who was the real Sachi. The new Sachi that he was only now getting used to, or the old Sachi who was apparently now only a small part of Sachi that Kirito was getting more acquainted with. Perhaps he was just over-thinking things as always.

'Well she couldn't help us... we'll have to find a place out of here ourselves... we would have to map the place for Argo too... or there'll be no dinner for us.'

Kirito gave Sachi a pet on the head even as she pouted at the treatment.

'Well let's get started then. I'll be fine with some toast, but Kirito-kun needs his daily B-grade dishes~'

Sachi playfully stuck her tongue out at Kirito even as the boy protested at his expensive tastes after eating a slice of heaven when Argo treated him to dinner that last time.

Argo had subsequently invested in a small amount of her own points in cooking, successfully winning a portion of Kirito's attention with that. Sachi didn't mind Argo doing that, she always did know that Argo had her own crush on Kirito, but it was not her decision to make, it was Kirito-kun's decision. It wasn't that Sachi had absolute faith in her chances, but she wanted the best for Kirito-kun after all. If in the end, she wasn't good enough for him, she would have no choice but to wish him well.

That said, Sachi did admit that she tried her hand at cooking for a bit before utterly giving up and going to more productive things, like training her shield skills for one.

'Anyway, no time like the present. Let's try to make this a fast one and be back for dinner.'

Kirito agreed as he unsheathed his sword while Sachi brought her shield to bear after adjusting the half-helm that she was wearing.

* * *

..

'Hmph!'

Kirito scoffed even as the last of the mob of monsters that had tried to ambush them from behind was dispatched by a last swing into it's abdomen. They hadn't taken much damage from the mobs despite being in one of the dungeons for the front-liners. This was both a testament to Sachi's skill as a forward as well as his own abilities as a fast cleaner. That said, his long inactivity had caused him to lose some steam compared to the other cleaners, and he was anxious to make up for lost time.

Even with Sachi a good 8 levels below him and just barely managing to keep up with the main cleaners, they were still clearing the mobs in a pace that would make the cleaners shake their head in envy.

Sachi's skill and improvised methods were more than sufficient to keep the mobs' attention on her when she engaged her foes. It also helped that Kirito was able to despatch of the foes when he switched in to deal the decisive blows on the stunned or weakened monsters that Sachi was holding back from Kirito.

'Good job, Kirito-kun. Let's go on now.'

Sachi smiled even as she brushed away the sweat that had formed from the short engagement with the mobs. Although they had cleared the mob of monsters in good time, the size of it meant that it had still taken a while. The terrain itself was both a bane as well as a boon, for even if it restricted the number of monsters that could attack them to three at one time, it also meant that they could only engage in two at most, for Sachi would have to remain in front to draw the mob's attention.

As a forward and as the tank, she always had to be in front, even if she was giving way to Kirito to land the finishing blows. If they were to make haste and just try to walk past, it would still be Sachi who would lead the way with her shield, Kirito dispatching the weaker ones or the ones that refused to give up even after being stunned by Sachi.

Even as Sachi tried to move forward to lead the way, she stopped when Kirito raised a hand to warn her of something. Kirito subsequently tapped two fingers on his sword, warning Sachi that they were players and not monsters, causing Sachi to tense a little as she raised her shield back to it's ready position even as Kirito kept a handful of throwing needles in his spare arm if needed.

They were a little nervous for they had gotten rumours of the PK group, the Laughing Coffin, and it was always better to be safe than sorry.

..

As the two figures rounded the corner and into their line of sight, Kirito was the first to react for he recognized the two figures that seemed just as surprised to see two other players in the dungeon as well.

One of them was the most famous, and rumoured to be the strongest player of SAO, the leader of the [Knights of the Blood], Heathcliff himself. Due to his constant presence in the front-lines and boss fights, he was aware of the leader but had not spoken directly to him before.

The real surprise was the girl besides him, an beautiful girl with almond colored hair that he had last seen around half a year ago.

'Kirito-kun?!'

However it was Asuna who reacted first as she pointed a finger at him in surprise. If Sachi was surprised or taken aback at how the girl knew his name, she didn't react. Instead she studied Heathcliff for a moment before lowering her shield down to a more relaxed position.

'Asuna...? Why are you with the Knights of the Blood?'

Asuna was wearing a light blue armour with a much finer cloak than what she had been wearing before. It certainly didn't match up with the flash red and white styled of armour that the KoB wore.

'…I-I was just recruited into their guild... Heathcliff-san came down specially to talk to me, and I just agreed to join them okay?'

Asuna seemed embarrassed but proud too as she shot a few furtive glances at the older man who nodded his head in Kirito's direction.

'And you must be the **Black Swordsman, **Kirito-kun, I presume? I am Heathcliff, but I am sure that you have heard of me, just as how I've heard of you.'

Kirito had the grace to look chagrined as he shook the hand that Heathcliff offered him while scratching his head with his other hand. Even if he liked the title that he had been given, for it was quite fitting, he would never admit it to anyone else. It was different with Heathcliff though, the few times Kirito had seen him, he was awfully formal, but he had a way of still managing to use his charisma to make the other party open up a little to him, just like how he did with Kirito.

'Rumours can be blown out of proportions, Heathcliff-san, I'm afraid that my reputation preceded me. It is an honor to meet you for the first time.'

Kirito did respect the man, for he had saved many lives when he had stepped in to try and hold off a Boss Monster during a disastrous raid by himself, unquestionably saving many lives. Even if he had been forced back in the end after a few minutes, it was still quite a feat to see the one man keeping the boss at bay for a short time.

'No, the pleasure is all mine. Even if I am disappointed that I was unable to extend an offer to invite you into our guild as well. Players of your skill and calibre are rare, just like how Asuna-kun is. But I see that you already joined one.'

Heathcliff's words made Asuna turn just a little red as she scratched her head, commenting on how that wasn't true. It seemed that Asuna did idolize Heathcliff just a little too. But the man's charm was undeniable to all that was present, even Sachi looked a little interested till Heathcliff's eyes met hers.

'And who might this young lady be then? I apologize for not introducing myself. I am Heathcliff, the leader of the [Knights of the Blood]. You must be a fine player if you were able to make even the _solo_ Kirito-kun party with you.'

'Ah, and I am Asuna. Nice to meet you, Miss.'

Heathcliff's voice hinted that he was teasing Kirito a little, causing Sachi to give Kirito a knowing smirk even as he grinned sheepishly as well. Asuna on her part just seemed curious as well as Sachi spoke up herself.

'It is a great honour, Heathcliff-san. I have heard of your name as well, I am Sachi, the leader of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon], a very small guild that aspires to be in the front-line just like the Knights of the Blood does. Asuna-san, it is nice to meet you as well.'

Sachi's introduction made Kirito grin, for it was delivered without any hesitation, despite Sachi's face slowly turning red as she recited the lines that Argo had taught her to use when questioned. The shy aspect of Sachi wasn't totally gone yet after all.

'Ah... The [Black Cats of the Full Moon], the guild that the information broker Argo had just recently joined. To think that besides Argo, you would have been able to persuade the **Black Swordsman** to join the guild... you must be a very charming lady indeed.'

Heathcliff laughed good heartedly even as Sachi shook her head to deny those claims.

'You flatter me, Heathcliff-san, Kirito-kun and I have worked together in the past, and for Argo-san, she joined us due to her ties with Kirito-kun as well as the convenience of having a base of operations. If anything, I believe that we were brought together because of Kirito-kun.'

Sachi's teasing words made Kirito blush even as he made shushing noises that only caused Asuna to giggle softly while Heathcliff chuckled as well.

'I am glad to see that the youths are still able to enjoy themselves in the midst of this death-game. But that is how it should be... we should not lose sight of who we still are even during a crisis. Sachi-kun, Kirito-kun, if more people were like you, I am certain that the game would be cleared soon.'

Heathcliff's sincere words made Sachi nod solemnly while Kirito agreed as well. As expected of the charismatic leader of the KoB, he was able to turn a simple conversation around into a very motivating one.

'If I may, may I enquire why the two of you are wandering the dungeon alone as well?'

Sachi asked softly before Asuna gave a long suffering sigh while Heathcliff simply chuckled softly as well.

* * *

..

'Oh, so the two of you were separated by the landslide that happened earlier...'

Kirito said so calmly even while trying to hide his panic at having affected the KoB's training exercise with his own actions. Sachi on her part, had reached behind Kirito to pinch him softly, scowling a little before smiling sympathetically to the two of them.

The dungeon that they were in was at the 40th Level, and it was an area that was best described to be set in a mining tunnel. The tunnel itself was inhabited by large mole monsters who attacked players with their pickaxes or claws if they were attacked. They were different from normal monsters in that they were blind but was still able to seek and track players with their scent as well as their sensitive noses. These monsters tended to swarm, and as they had thick fur, sharp tools and light armour to boot, they were quite difficult to deal with. But as the swarm and respawn rate of these monsters were quite high and as the dungeon was just as huge and able to accommodate several parties of players, it was popular with the front-lines to train their levels.

The problem was that the dungeon itself was quite unstable, and in this case, it was Kirito who had been the ones who had caused the map of the place to change again after he had failed to kill an individual of the particularly larger and stronger species of the moles, causing it to flee into the hard walls of the mine itself. By doing so, it triggered off a mini-landslide that had cause a portion of the mine to collapse, hence blocking their way forward.

Apparently it had caused several earthquakes around the area as well, and thus affecting the training session of the Knights of the Blood.

'Are the two of you mapping the area, Kirito-kun, Sachi-san?'

Asuna asked even as the four of them exchanged their mapping information with each other to find the way out. Even if they were able to use teleport crystals here, Heathcliff had thought that since he was with Asuna here, they might as well train a little by themselves.

'Well, Argo wanted the information... so I guess we'll be here for a while.'

Kirito commented sadly even as Sachi gave him a nod while showering him with a dry look. It was Kirito-kun's own fault, so there was no helping it after all.

'Then could we join them, Commander Heathcliff-san? It would be a good opportunity to for us to work on our team work.'

'Hmm... interesting, I would be able to see the **Black Swordsman **in action... That does seem interesting.'

'Aha, but I'll be able to see your skills as well, Heathcliff-san, as long you are willing to provide some pointers to Sachi as well.'

Kirito countered with an equal challenging grin, causing Heathcliff to pause before chuckling.

'Very well, it seems that a training session is agreeable between both parties? Let us go then, for it would not be honourable for us to make a lady wait, even if it is for something as trivial as mapping information.'

'Oh I don't know about that, Heathcliff-san. Argo she... would be able to turn a profit for everything she gets her hands on.'

Hearing Kirito's long suffering sigh, the girls couldn't help but giggle a little even as Heathcliff looked amused at the younger ones, himself feeling a little old when faced with their enthusiasm.

* * *

**Author's Notes: This particular side story is to determine how the relations and power balance between the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] and the rest of the guild began. Besides, I thought that it would be a good way to show how Sachi developed, and how she and Kirito developed as a whole. And finally, Asuna appears!**


	9. Mechanics

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 9—Mechanics**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta-edit.**

* * *

,,

_**'**_We would be intruding then.'

Asuna gave a polite bow to Sachi even as they joined hers and Kirito. Asuna didn't really know what to make of Sachi, the leader of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, as she kept to herself the whole time she and Kirito was catching up.

Even if Asuna told herself that she was catching up with him, the truth was that Kirito, like his leader, Sachi, was quite a private individual as well. It did however frustrate Asuna that Kirito didn't seem to have that problem with Commander Heathcliff, for the two males had struck up quite a lively conversation based on their equipment.

'Men...'

Asuna whispered to herself a little helplessly even as she snuck another glance at Kirito-kun.

It was a far cry from how he had approached her before in the first raid against the boss on the first floor, but then again, the scene that he had created when he declared himself as a beater really did hurt him quite a bit. Perhaps it was a mixture of his pain, as well as his warmth from before that made Asuna come out of her shell and to aspire to get stronger and to not end up like him? Or perhaps she wanted to show him that if she could do that, he could do?

But then again she was thankful and proud to be recognized by Heathcliff, rumoured to be the strongest player in SAO, and for him to come down personally to persuade her to join the Knights of the Blood, and even to be his vice-commander for the entire guild was very flattering. Even if she had been quite indecisive at the start when she was apparently 'scouted' by the members of the Knights.

Asuna was happy, and she felt like she had achieved much more than she could have believed half a year ago. Even if she still hadn't totally broken out of the suicidal way in which she trained herself, but she digressed.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained after all!

..

'No, we would be in your care.'

Sachi muttered softly even as she bowed back formally, and when her eyes met Asuna's, she smiled at Sachi as well. To her relief, Sachi gave her a smile back, reassuring Asuna that at least it wasn't her who was making her uncomfortable.

Commander Heathcliff was of course, sizing up Kirito-kun as the two males readied their equipment.

'I see that you have taken great care to upgrade your swords, Kirito-kun, but that is to be expected from a player of your skill... do you go through a lot of blacksmiths then to upgrade your weapons? I can recommend a few to you if you wish to know more.'

'Ah well, kind of. I do have one that I frequent more often, but he's only good with repairs. Right now I'm more used to relying on Field Boss Drops, or when when I get lucky with the Final Attack Bonus. Not that I get that a lot nowadays, your guild is pretty amazing, Heathcliff-san.'

Kirito admitted with a rueful grin even as Heathcliff looked a little flattered and affronted as well..

'I assure you, we all share the same goal of defeating the game. I must apologize if the guild members have given you a negative impression, Kirito-kun. It's just, sometimes they forget what they are truly fighting for. I thank you for pointing that out to me.'

Healthcliff looked thoughtful even as Kirito said that he wasn't implying anything, causing Heathcliff to give him another one of his small smiles.

'I see... well, I shall not bother you with more of those senseless politics that is plaguing the front-lines. Back to the topic earlier, the materials needed to upgrade shields are alas, just as frustrating. However, I do have a few spots that the Knights of the Blood frequent when it comes down to gathering materials, Perhaps a partnership would be in order, it is difficult to find worthy party members in a particularly gruelling area, I do find myself being unable to fight to my heart's content at times.'

Heathcliff gave Kirito a slight smile even as the black-haired boy gave his own thoughts about it.

'Well as long as the offer doesn't mean that I have to join your guild when I do, I could consider it. Is the level differences so high, even in the Knights of the Blood?'

Asuna barely had time to register the change in Sachi's expression before it was gone, she smoothing her expression to the same patient look she had before she as she turned to look at the two guys, interrupting their conversation abruptly.

..

'Kirito-kun... Shall we?'

Sachi spoke up politely, causing the two boys to turn to her before nodding their heads. The two of them not didn't even notice Sachi's intent like how Asuna did. This much was enough to cause Asuna to be a little warier of Sachi, perhaps it was due to how she was a woman that she was able to sense her intent earlier on? That was too much of a stretch to believe actually.

'I'll be in your care then.'

Sachi mumbled again even as she held her shield and short sword to their ready position in front of her. The rest of the party, seeing how she was prepared to start this little training session together, nodded even as they made their final preparations. Even as Kirito moved to stand slightly behind Sachi, Heathcliff and Asuna looked at each awkwardly for a few moments before Asuna took a position behind her commander before Heathcliff coughed and said that since he was presumably the rear guard, a position that he was unfamiliar with, it would be best for Asuna to stay in front of him.

'Ah... right, sorry, Commander...'

Asuna blushed as her ears turned pink, moving herself to be in front of Heathcliff even as she drew her rapier to prepare herself to aid Kirito-kun in front.

As the small party head off to scout the now remodelled dungeon with the mapping info that the two sides had gathered so far, they adopted a common way in which parties arranged themselves in SAO.

A front forward tank to grab the attention of the monsters they were facing as well as to tank the damage with their better defensive stats. A scout to search and detect monsters, and to detect traps for the party. One or two players in the party to be damage dealers, if possible they should wield different weapons to deal the most overall damage to the mobs that the tanker was taking on in front. And finally a rear guard to ensure that their party was not caught unaware by any monsters that attacked from behind them.

In this case, Sachi was the forward, a role that was decided before anyone could raise an objection. In the case of Heathcliff, he was satisfied and perhaps more than a little curious about how someone could deign to volunteer for a role that he was _obviously_ much better at. There were many occasions where even in the Knights of the Blood, Heathcliff would find himself acting as the forward even without his party or guild members asking him to. Perhaps it's just him acting the part where everyone expected him to perform unconsciously, Heathcliff found himself both happy as well as feeling quite complicated at the expectations everyone had for him.

So it was refreshing to meet someone who didn't have that same expectations that others had for him, even if he was also curious in how Sachi would perform in the role of a forward.

Kirito was obviously taking on the role of a scout, he had no doubts that he had been the one who had been able to detect the two of them approaching. The roles and abilities of a scout was doubly important to a solo player as they were always risking their lives by playing alone. Even if Kirito-kun had finally teamed up with someone else, the young girl in front of him was still lower in levels was compared to the **Black Swordsman** and even to Asuna as well. No doubt, she was obviously fresh to the front lines as well. Heathcliff should know, he and the Knights of the Blood had taken the time and effort to scout and to create profiles for all the front-line clearers and even those who helped clear the records do not only cover those whom fought in the boss battles.

He had first-hand intelligence about most of the active players who wished to clear the game, and he was not ashamed to admit that a lot of those information had been gleaned from Argo the _Rat_, who had taken great pleasure to literally line her own wallets with tidbits of information about the players.

Heathcliff didn't fault Argo for doing that, she was surviving in the death game that was Sword Art Online with her own methods and means. And especially since she was still strictly professional with the information she was selling, meaning that she would never divulge any confidential information about the players to them, Heathcliff had great respect for the _Rat_ and what she was doing in the game itself.

Heathcliff had thought that he and the Knights of the Blood had crafted quite a detailed portfolio of the front-line clearers, and it was with this profile did they start their own recruitment drive in order to balance their guild out better, and thus increasing their chances of being able to clear the boss battles with the right mix of people and skills concentrated within the guild itself.

It was not surprising to know that there was hardly any solo players about in the game at this point, the solo players were either all dead at this point, something with Heatcliff rued as there were quite a few of them who had potential earlier on, or had been absorbed into bigger guilds.

..

Heathcliff made a policy to not approach other guild members unless they displayed signs of unrest and unhappiness within the ranks of the guilds when they did raids in the front-lines. His recruiters had been successfully in prying some members from the Aincrad Liberation Force or the Army into his guild. This has undoubtedly caused tensions, but the Army had chosen to keep quiet instead, no doubt not wanting to offend him and the power of his guild.

Asuna had been one of his primary targets, not because she was one of the few female players in the front-line, and was also a solo, it was because she was simply a great player. Out of all the players in the front-line, Asuna was the fastest and her skill with the rapier, a very unpopular weapon and thus making a unique weapon in a way, made her a very worthy candidate indeed.

Heathcliff had not minded how he had to personally speak to Asuna to persuade her in the least, Asuna deserved at least that amount of respect after all, and since Asuna was very very popular, the Knights of the Blood couldn't afford for them to be anything but sincere to her.

Kirito was another person that the Knights of the Blood wished to recruit, but he was a much harder enigma than Asuna simply because there really wasn't any opportunity to speak to the **Black Swordsman **as he was a very silent and private individual. It was also due to that that Heathcliff half suspected that Argo had teamed up with Kirito at some point to share profits on the various rumours and legends that were tied to him, like the title of the **Black Swordsman, One Sword No Shield **and various others that had made tracking the individual responsible for all of that impossible.

It had compounded matters even more when Kirito had disappeared for close to a month just when recruitment was really heating up, the other guilds and theirs ramping up effort to get all the best players into their guild.

But seeing how Kirito had interacted with Asuna before, dismissing some of the rumours that the **Black Swordsman**was untouchable, perhaps he could have killed two birds with one stone.

However, back to the topic of Sachi, Heathcliff had not even heard or seen an individual like her in the front-lines, and he should have, because there was almost a total monopoly of male forwards, the rare female players were always the vanguard and the damage dealers after all.

He was really looking forward to how Sachi handled herself after all!

* * *

..

'She's really good...'

Asuna whispered to her guild leader, Heathcliff as they too started clearing the mole mobs that tended to gather in groups in this particular dungeon.

From the display that they received in their status window, it was getting close to mid-day, the hottest time of the day, but the pace of the two members of the Black Cats of the Full Moon did not falter even when they had not even taken a rest since the four of them had set out together an hour ago.

Asuna knew her own reasons for agreeing to this little training expedition, and although her new commander, Heathcliff himself said that this was a good opportunity for him to see how well she could perform, as well as to observe the infamous Black Swordsman in action. Asuna still felt that like her, Commander Heathcliff had his own reasons for continuing this as well. For an hour was long enough to start having a good feel of their own team work together.

In a party, balance and teamwork was important, and it would greatly reduce or increase the chances as well as strength of the party when working together. In that sense, Asuna and her commander were good partners together as Asuna was a player who focused more on her speed, and her skill with the rapier was simply amazing to watch. Many times one of the mobs would be overwhelmed and was killed even as it bewilderingly wondered what had happened to it as it disappeared into polygons of light. Heathcliff could say that with confidence as there were many mole monsters who had died with a confused expression on their human-like faces. There were times that Asuna had despatched one so fast that it was like she was handling two monsters at a single time. That said, Heathcliff himself wasn't a slouch in the offense department either, the mobs in this dungeon wasn't a particular challenge as they were simply too inaccurate with their weapons to deal enough damage to him. And that allowed him to use his own sword skills with impunity, severely damaging the mobs before leaving them to Asuna to finish them off.

What made the dungeon so attractive to the clearers was the spawn rate of course, and seeing how their rear guard was just as occupied as the forward was that it was akin to having two fronts as they navigated the place was also what made it so dangerous.

Even if Heathcliff knew that they were in no danger even if they were overwhelmed, what with the **Black Swordsman **and him around to ensure the other two were safe, Asuna being no slouch herself, it was testament to Sachi's own ability that they were still able to advance in quite a steady rate.

..

Like most of the other players who had seen Sachi fight in combat, Asuna had flinched and had retreated back slightly after seeing Sachi target the mole mobs that stood in her path without a single shred of remorse. Her short sword tore into the mole's wrists, even stabbing the shorter moles in the eyes whenever she could reach it. Her strategy literally was to mutilate and to hurt the mole mobs in the easiest and bloodiest ways possible even as she continued to defend against the mobs.

Asuna was not really a forward, and even in the rare occasions that she was, Asuna focused exclusively on how she could kill the mobs with her blinding fast attacks. Many foes were killed before they could retaliate, something she was proud of. But even if she wasn't used to using a shield, she could tell that Sachi wasn't parrying as much as she was blocking.

There was a big difference in the two, parrying would mean that the player was effectively reducing the damage that they were supposed to receive to zero by blocking their attacks at the right time, or in the right position.

Blocking or guarding however was much easier, and easily accomplished as compared to the [Parrying] skill as a successful block/guard would only greatly reduce the damage that the attack would deal on the Player. It was akin to a method to weather an assault, but unless the player had healing items, or was able to ensure that the rate of deterioration on their HP was lower than their HP regeneration, they were simply buying for time. Now, that wasn't all a bad thing, seeing that being able to buy time was one of the main roles of a forward/tanker, but that meant that the role of the forward/tanker would only have it's greatest effect with a party. Well, a partner would work, but the average damage per second required to ensure that the forward/tank's survivability as well as their safety margin was unsustainable with just a pair, especially since the monsters would also use [Block] and [Parry] skills when they were at higher levels.

One good difference between the two skills was how players who invested more in Dexterity would benefit from [Parry] while the ones who invested more in vitality would benefit from [Guard]. It was a case when even if the players might have the skill to parry, their body movements didn't allow them to do that.

Back to Sachi however, Sachi might be more reliant on [Guard] but that didn't translate to her not being able to use [Parry], for to Asuna's astonishment, Sachi was more than willing to absorb blows from the Mole mobs if it meant that she was able to successfully land a sword skill on the Mole mobs.

The mole mobs were considered demi-humanoid creatures, hence they had features that were recognizable as being human, and with that trait, meant they could use sword skills as well with their mining equipment. What was doubly dangerous was how their equipment was considered an hybrid between an axe-class as well as a mace-class weapon. It had a sharp bladed end that was similar to an axe, and still retained the blunt and heavy edge of a mace weapon.

And since players couldn't use the weapon, or improvise in their use as good as the mole mobs could, their sword skills were extremely damaging even if they could only use the basics of basics of sword skills like [Reaver] and [Diagonal].

Sachi would spare no expense in parrying those blows, even if she was more than willing to guard against most of the attacks so Kirito-kun could finish them off.

Sachi's own damage dealing capabilities did pale when compared to Kirito-kun or her own, but she was more than a match for her commander's attacks despite having lower levels and weaker equipment. If Asuna had to gauge from her experience alone, Sachi was as good, if not slightly better than her commander's own ability to hold off the mobs as a whole.

..

'She is indeed a very fine forward... She has successfully overcame the differences in level with her own style of fighting. I guess Argo's own intelligence of attacking critical areas was based on the success that Sachi-san has.'

Asuna could tell that her commander was impressed as well, but she herself was more impressed by how Sachi was defending Kirito-kun and being his forward and guard. Even if Sachi was taking more damage than Commander Heathcliff was, Sachi was also clearing the mobs together with Kirito-kun in a much faster rate than the two of them could manage even with better overall levels, stats and equipment.

Even if Asuna was vaguely aware that their safety margin was much better and healthier, it was also a fact that Sachi's own HP management was perhaps on a different scale, or calculated entirely differently. Sachi's HP bar had never once reached green since they had met their first mob of moles, and it had reached the critical red zone more than once. Despite all that, Sachi soldiered on, and as she encountered more mobs, the faster she and Kirito cleared them together.

The **Black Swordsman's **dance of death was terribly damaging, fascinating, beautiful and tinged with a hint of desperation in it as Kirito mowed down the mobs that Sachi allowed to past, even as she walked deeper into the mass of mole mobs that was spawning in front of them.

'Focus, Asuna-kun, we are losing ground as I speak.'

Commander Heathcliff's words shook Asuna out of her own reverie before she nodded and went back to the offensive, scoring several critical hits as she struck them between the eyes without noticing.

* * *

..

'Your style is certainly unique, Sachi-san.'

Heathcliff commented carefully as the group finally stopped for a breather after a relentless pace that had lasted for close to two hours before Kirito suggested that a break could be in order. When Sachi had agreed, Heathcliff had been a little amused to see Asuna dropping to her knees in both relief as well as exhaustion at the relentless pace that the two of them had set for all of them. He had also been amused at how Sachi had popped yet another potion and drank it like it was water. He had noticed that Sachi had never used a single healing crystal, instead choosing to use potions exclusively, even if he questioned why she was using the weaker potions that healed by regeneration and not fixed amounts with each pot.

Heathcliff was not as affected as he had gone through even tougher grinds together with the Knights of the Blood, but he supposed that the difference between the girls was key here.

Asuna was a solo player, and thus must be used to levelling at her own pace while maintaining her safety margin. That itself would certainly force her to set her own pace, a pace that was probably affected by her own physical stamina. Even if this was a game, and their stats had no relation whatsoever to what their physical bodies were capable of, they were still affected by the their own individual reactions and how well they were able to get used to the system in SAO. People do get tired after all, and the mental strain of keeping up with monsters, always dealing with the fear that was certainly _always_ there, was still a stressful situation.

Doubly so for a quick and agile fighter like Asuna, who wouldn't be able endure or to take damage like how Sachi could do so, and would thus be required to focus even more on her attempts to avoid taking damage.

Since there was no pain in this world, or even if there was, it was limited to a fraction of what was possible, being a forward had that advantage that other roles didn't necessarily have.

But Heathcliff doubted that was the true reason why Sachi was able to keep up that relentless pace. It wasn't that Sachi was just mindlessly taking damage, no one could totally isolate or shut themselves off from the fear of dying, it just wasn't possible.

Perhaps it had to do with how the presence and the way she carried herself had never quite changed ever since he first met her? There were certainly fluctuations at times when she spoke with someone else, but to Heathcliff, Sachi was intensely focused on fighting, so much so that she couldn't stop preparing herself for combat. A sense of awareness, if one would. He supposed that after facing such a huge number of mobs for such a long time might cause a mindset like that to develop. But for it to happen to a person who had never been seen in the front-lines so far was... disturbing as well as interesting.

He would really want to know more about this girl after all.

'You flatter me, Heathcliff-san. I am merely doing my best to survive in this world like everyone else.'

Sachi looked up from scrutinizing her shield, checking it's durability even as Heathcliff continued to tower over the sitting girl as he stood a little awkwardly beside her.

'May I?'

He gestured to the position beside Sachi, and after the brief nod that she gave, slowly sat down beside her. His movement was a little awkward due to the armour that he was wearing. It was also astounding that Sachi was still in medium light armour, which offered better defence than the light armour that Kirito and Asuna preferred, and not heavy armour like what forwards were used to wearing. The difference in protection the two provided were quite extreme, seeing that it was also not medium armour, which would cover portions of the body with heavy armour equivalents while leaving the rest be covered by heavy padded cloth or leather instead. Sachi's shield too, was light and unlike the large Tower shield that he was more comfortable in using. Then again, Heathcliff noted that the shield that Sachi was equipping was a Boss Drop that could only be obtained by the Ant Queen in the 5th floor, which meant that it was better than the average shield at least.

'It must be tough on you to replace your equipment, Sachi-san.'

Heathcliff tried to get the conversation going towards the mechanics of the game even as he rubbed his chin while checking his own equipment as well. Sachi had gone through no less than 3 short swords in their 2 hour rampage after all.

..

Just in front of the two of them, Asuna was busy interrogating Kirito about what she had missed out since the two of them separated ways from the first boss raid. She had seen him at times of course, but Kirito had always disappeared after the boss raid, mostly to activate the crystal, or to just set up a base of operations for himself.

As Asuna was a female player, and apparently was quite the sight to see when she was fighting the mobs, she had always been swarmed with other players wanting to 'hang out' with her after each individual raid.

Asuna was so not impressed by the way they tried to pick her up after the first twenty or so attempts. Asuna also knew that she was successful in her attempt to come out of her shell when she interacted with Kirito, or perhaps because it was Kirito-kun that made it so easy for her to do so?

Either way, she would treasure this time they had together as Kirito-kun was surprisingly willing or was in the mood to converse.

'So now what are you plans after joining the guild, Kirito-kun? Would you be going back to the front-lines?'

'Yes, we are planning on joining in on the next boss raid. I guess the field boss is causing a lot of problems if it's still not cleared yet.'

Kirito mused even as Asuna nodded in agreement.

'The field boss in the 48th floor is a Behemoth, and it's one of the few who actually uses breath attacks. The scouts report that it would start using those breath attacks when it is cornered or trapped to a confined place. But if we don't get rid of it, the seal on the boss's room won't be open.'

'And in order to kill it with the less casualties, it's best to hold it in a single place for the clearers to attack it all at once. Letting it run around freely would just make it indefinitely more dangerous.'

Kirito winced even as Asuna nodded solemnly as well, but Asuna tried her best to change the mood when she rummaged through her bag to pull out a carefully wrapped sandwich.

'Are you hungry, Kirito-kun? Would you like to share this sandwich with me? I made it myself, but I am always trying to improve!'

Asuna smiled happily even as in front of her, Sachi's expression changed slightly before she sighed again.

..

'I apologize for my subordinates... direct nature.'

Heathcliff commented with a small dry chuckle even as Sachi slowly shook her head.

'No, it's definitely Kirito-kun who is at fault here.'

Sachi muttered back even as she equipped yet another short sword into her left hand.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Yes, I am humanizing Heathcliff here, but tell me what you think and drop a review too!**


	10. In Greater Detail

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 10— In Greater Detail**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for all of your support, and thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta-edit!**

* * *

..

'It always amazes me when I look at Sachi-san and her efforts and ability as a forward.'

Heathcliff noted to Kirito before the group was about to head off again after a short rest. He had taken the time to go through Sachi's choice of equipment together with her and had taken the liberty to offer some advice to Sachi about being a good forward.

He had not been too surprised to know that Sachi has both [Emergency Recovery] as well as [HP Regeneration] trained to a very high level together with her [Guard Skill]. But the surprise came from how Sachi had described to him that she was also training [Shield Mastery], a skill that was apparently only available after one used one's shield as a weapon after a certain number of times.

That was a new avenue to him and the mystery of why Sachi was equipping her shield on the right arm instead of the left was made clear to him. It was initially done, Sachi admitted embarrassedly, due to a mistake. She had been in a hurry to equip her shield when she had selected her right hand instead and having been unable to find a breathing room to re-equip her shield in the other slot later on, she had simply gone on per the norm till she had gotten used to how to handle the shield like a weapon instead. More than a shield, and less like a weapon, that was how Sachi had developed her style, sort of anyway.

Heathcliff himself wasn't sure whether it was a style that suited him, seeing that he was still used to carrying his shield in his left hand and using his dominant right hand for his sword arm, even as a forward, he has to deal damage as well.

However, Heathcliff did acknowledge and accept that his average DPS (damage per second) was much lower than Sachi's, who was able to rack up considerable damage due to her unorthodox damage dealing methods. So it was a trade off, Sachi was much better in her offense, but Heathcliff was better in overall defensive capability. The fact that he was able to do so with his shield arm being less dominant was not lose on Sachi, who respected him greatly as well, perhaps not to the level that Asuna had for him, but it was still a considerable amount that made Heathcliff feel both reassured as well as complicated.

Reassured as his reputation was intact as well as suitably impressive to make yet another potential recruit impressed about him. Complicated as he didn't really want all that fame and recognition tied to him, as it would simply put a lot of pressure on him in the future.

Luckily or perhaps unluckily for Heathcliff, he had experience dealing with pressure in his real job in the real world, so well, perhaps it was a foreshadowing for what he was about to undertake later on.

Not to mention, he didn't really expect himself to really be pushed to the front-lines to take charge as a commander of sorts. But since no one had officially taken that claim, and it had fallen on his shoulders, he'll do his best to do the best possible job of it. The youths that had been stuck in the game itself were in general, not as promising as he had thought they would be, but it was also to be expected.

They were just youths, young adults at most, and for them to take on a leadership role, they needed more experience. There were a few who stood out, like Asuna, Kirito and perhaps the young man of the Aincrad Liberation Forces, Thinker in the global stage. There was that young man, Klein with his own tight knit clearer guild and Agil as well, who had proven to be a very valuable source of experience both in and outside of the game. Argo was another notable example of a young woman who had managed to obtain, or in this case, totally dominate the Information gathering, distribution as well as field intelligence services.

Even if Heathcliff had plans of setting up a dedicated scouting party or at least a group of dedicated scouts for use in the front lines, he was also aware that Argo might be the best potential leader of that particular group if it was created.

Now that she too has joined a guild, it would also make liasoning with her much more convenient and more official, instead of how individuals in those lines whom always made deals under the table or verbally. With the common vow that all information given was taken at the risk of the users, it wasn't always the best way to obtain information about quests or demons, but with the lack of an alternative at the moment, those information dealers had a monopoly of the market.

Thankfully Argo was one of the exceptions, she was a very honorable person who honored her deals as well as her debts, that put her in a very suitable and convenient position to be selected by Heathcliff as the go to person for information, even if she was ruthless with her prices, as she was willing to squeeze the most out of her clients without remorse. They didn't say that she could even sell her own grandmother for gold for nothing after all.

But amongst all of those individuals, Heathcliff was most ashamed as well as uneasy about how he had missed out the leader of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon], Sachi. He had never ever even heard of that Guild before, and yet it had surfaced itself out of nowhere with Argo as well as Kirito as it's guild members, apparently following the leadership of this young girl. She was like a diamond in the rough, filled with potential that was not yet trained or refined to be the best that she could be. As compared to Kirito and Argo, individuals who were already showing off and was recognized for their own individual skill sets, Sachi was indeed an enigma.

One that Heathcliff was perhaps getting more desperate to know about.

'Sachi has been pushing herself hard after all. I just wish she will take a break now and then. She's pushing herself too hard and well, that's dangerous, as you should know, Heathcliff-san, she'll get burned out without her knowing'

Kirito gave his own suffering sigh as he looked at Sachi fondly, even as the two girls were comparing notes about their own equipment. Asuna had commented on Sachi's top, saying that it'll look better with some customization and the conversation had gone on from there. Kirito was glad to see her at least opening up to Asuna, who he had hoped would help Sachi open up a little more.

Sachi, well, she has always been a shy girl and besides Argo, whom Kirito knew had forced herself into Sachi's circle of friends, Kirito wasn't sure she knew any other friends at all. If Sachi did, she obviously wasn't introducing them to Kirito. He was of two minds about that, the first was disappointment; the second was confusion at why she was keeping it a secret from him.

Either way, seeing how the two girls were laughing and giggling a little, sometimes turning to look at him and then giggle even more again, Kirito was both amused as well as resigned. They were probably talking about him, but if that was what it took to make Sachi open up to someone else, so be it.

If he could tolerate the title of 'Beater, he was certainly able to tolerate whatever embarrassing things they were talking about him. Well maybe...

'That is indeed true. However, it is also true that without risks, there would be no progress as well. Pushing oneself beyond the limits of one's physical ability to surpass oneself has always been an admirable thing.'

Heathcliff replied confidently, causing Kirito to chuckle while nodding his head.

'But blindly charging ahead is not a good thing too. Especially since.., this is more than a game at this point.'

Kirito remarked casually even as he moved to call the girls over, not noticing how Heathcliff's expression changed slightly, a proud smile on his face before shaking his head at Kirito-kun.

'Is that finally a sign of things to come then?'

* * *

..

'I'll be in your care then, Heathcliff-san.'

Sachi bowed to Heathcliff a little hesitantly even as she fidgeted, shifting her position slightly while adjusting her shield at the same time. Even if Sachi had proved indifferent most of the time, his presence before her in combat was a different thing altogether. So Sachi could feel his presence change as well, that was good for it showed that Sachi could indeed read non-verbal cues at least reasonably well enough to pick up on when he changed his mindset to perform on the front lines.

'Likewise, Sachi-san. This is a new area that was only exposed due to the landslide that happened earlier, it is really interesting to see how so many hidden dungeons or hidden rooms can be discovered in Aincrad.'

For some reason, after his statement, Sachi seemed to freeze, her eyes widening a little as her breath quickened. It was only for a moment, but Heathcliff, who had seen his share of combat and was well experienced with it, caught it easily.

'Is there something wrong, Sachi-san? You were... a little worried earlier.'

Heathcliff spoke gently, trying to reassure the girl who obviously took offence or was worried about what he had said. If Sachi was still worried about how Aincrad could still spring surprises on the players and had been used to taking comfort from the predictability of the mapping and monster information that could be bought off the information dealers, she would never be a top player. The simple fact was that there was always the risk and danger of the unknown in Aincrad due to the complexity as well as how the environment interacted with the players. It wasn't a traditional MMORPG where the background, the dungeons, the mechanics were all set in stone, fixed and unchanging without any variation without any regards to the passing of time.

This was Aincrad, this was Sword Art Online, where the game itself evolve, grow, and develop together with the players. If one was unable to adapt to just as quickly as the game does to the players, they would fall victim to the unpredictability of the game. In essence, Aincrad was as close as one could get to a game in real life. And for all the players, this _was_ real life to them, a life within a life so to speak, and the reward for defeating the game was to return to their real, mundane and perhaps boring life.

Heathcliff didn't really know what he truly feel about that, but it was something to think about in another time, when the game was cleared perhaps.

'… No, it is nothing.'

Was Sachi really someone who had memorized the attack patterns, the mechanics of this particular dungeon so well that she was able to utilize the best and most efficient ways to deal with the mobs here? If that was indeed true, Heathcliff would be very disappointed in both her as well as his own judgement. It might be a feat by itself, having someone dedicate themselves long and hard to study a single dungeon and it's mobs to such a level that she could determine her own safety margin as well as to develop unique stratagem to counter and deal with every threat possible was impressive indeed.

'Is that really true, Sachi-san? Please pardon me if it seems like I am intruding, but that is the first time I've seen you lost your composure up till now. Well, at least when it is not regarding Kirito-kun.'

Heathcliff gave the girl a reassuring smile even as the two of them continued forward as the forward of the party. Kirito and Asuna were taking up the rear, but they were a distance behind them, far enough to not be heard Heathcliff continued to speak softly while they were still within earshot if they raised their voices. Heathcliff was certain that Asuna was certainly taking advantage of that, just like how he was trying to get some more information about Sachi-san.

'… Please stop teasing me, Heathcliff-san...'

Sachi was at least able to reply with a straight face, unlike how Asuna had reacted earlier when Heathcliff took a stab in the dark to tease Asuna about Kirito as well. Well, on hindsight it was pretty obvious that Asuna had at least some interest in Kirito, but Heathcliff didn't imagine she would be so easily embarrassed about it. Asuna was a very proud person after all, and was very independent. Heathcliff was sure of that, seeing that she was a _solo_ after all, so seeing her dissolve so quickly into embarrassment about Kirito was somewhat of a surprise, even if it was a welcome sight to see Asuna warming to him both as a commander, as well as a person to at least confide in.

It was common knowledge to him that he was described as both as intimidating and imposing to most, as to why was he described like that, Heathcliff imagined it was how he looked, well, old and stern. That was one side-effect that happens when one ages, but it could be worse. Still, Heathcliff admitted that maybe he needed to smile a bit more, and more out of real humor or amusement rather than to prove a point to someone else. And so, he smiled again, a mix of amusement as well as to tease Sachi as he shook his head at her.

'Ah, to be youthful again. It is times like these that makes me rue my age, you have a long way ahead of you, Sachi-san. I'm certain that you will make those feelings of yours known.'

Heathcliff nodded, but he was caught flat-footed when Sachi said that she already did.

'Kirito-kun knows what I feel like, Heathcliff-san.'

'So the two of you are together than, Sachi-san?'

Heathcliff immediately frowned as he felt that he could have phrased it a little more delicately and not so crudely if Kirito had rejected her. But he hadn't, so he'll have to deal with the consequences or backlash of potentially hurting a girl's delicate feelings if so.

'That is up to Kirito-kun to decide.'

..

Sachi answered evenly before charging forward to engage a moleman mob that had just popped out of the ground. Heathcliff noted with a small nod at how Sachi's initial attack had stunned the mole monster, causing it to stay in the same position for a moment even when Sachi's follow up attack stabbed straight through into it's gut. Sachi kept the blade inside it for a moment before she twisted it, causing the monster's HP bar to drop even further before Heathcliff placed it out of it's mystery by slashing it with his own sword. It was a brutal way to kill a monster, especially since it was still taking damage from her stabbing attack to it's guts. To be perfectly honest, Heathcliff never once considered how damage was calculated if a weapon was left in the body of a monster, and it seems that he had discovered that fact thanks to the girl standing nonchalantly in front of him here.

He was of course aware that upon the loss of a limb in SAO would automatically result in a fixed percentage damage to the player as well as the monster. It was something that was discovered quite by accident during duels that would take place within the players themselves. Thankfully those incidents were rare, as players would hardly even attack another player's limbs when in a duel, and even if it might be more practical to do that to monsters, attacking a flailing limb trying it's best to cut you down wasn't the best target for players. Actually hitting the biggest mass of the body was preferred, for at least damage would be dealt to the monster. Besides, if one missed the limb, it was in essence a 'missed' attack, something which in the middle of combat could be deadly.

Likewise, despite the players having the sky as a limit for their growth, as compared to monsters like the human-like molemen here, or the fish-men that they had encountered several floor below, they were still very very fragile indeed, and Heathcliff had never considered how a weapon, when stuck in a person, would deal damage. Would it deal damage by chipping the durability of their equipment, or would it continually deal damage? What if someone tried to behead another person? Heathcliff was sure that for some monsters, like wolves, that feat of beheading would be possible, but... that would also mean they had to go deeper into details of how the damage was calculated, whether it could be applicable to bosses, and what weapons would actually be able to recreate that feat on which monsters.

It was probably too much hassle than it was worth, Heathcliff knew that the bosses of each level wouldn't have that easily exploitable weapons, and who knows what those attacks would do to the weapons themselves, Sachi was the only player he had seen to actually replace a weapon in the middle of a raid, that spoke volumes of how much abuse she was putting them through.

Then again, it could be that Sachi choose her weapon based on their ability to stab rather than anything else. The sharper a blade, the more fragile it was after all.

..

As players had no true defense stat to fall back on, no, that was wrong perhaps the closest they could match it to was 'vitality' which affected how much HP they had, with perhaps a little adding to their innate defense stat. It would also help determine how fast they could recover HP and from status effects amongst other things. The other stat that would help in defense was perhaps their own HP, which when coupled together with a high vitality build would enable them to soak up as much damage as possible, much more than what other players would be capable of withstanding even with similar equipment.

It can also be said that those stats were also helpful in stretching the safety margin of forwards to the extreme, seeing how vitality would affect HP regeneration, in actual practise, a good forward could actually have 1/3 extra amount of HP to factor in when factoring regeneration over time.

What made it difficult to be a forward was if one wanted to be a dedicated and very good forward, they would have to accept the fact that their damage output would be extremely pathetic. It was similar to how players with Dex + Agi builds, they were extremely accurate, and they never, _ever_ missed in their attacks. They could deal more damage more times than their fellow Str + Dex builds, but their individual damage was sorely lacking.

It was the same for forwards, to be a dedicated forward, they should theoretically only invest in the minimal amount of strength necessary to wear or to equip their heavy equipments, thus investing the rest of their stat gains into Vit respectively. Heathcliff's own build focused more on vitality and strength. It seems that Sachi however sank more into her vitality and dexterity, from how she was using a short sword rather than traditional forward weapons like one-handed swords, axes or maces. Short swords did focus more on precise stabbing and slashing moves after all, and they relied more on dexterity to ensure a hit. He was probably on the mark that Sachi had a unique build, with a unique style to at least potentially match his own damage output.

That said, Heathcliff knew there was a certain minimal 'requirement' of dexterity to ensure that a player's attack at least hit true, even if they might deal lesser than the maximum range of damage it could deal, perhaps that was what Sachi had sank into Dexerity as well?

Players call this the max-min range of damage, and some dedicated players would argue that having a very narrow max-min damage makes it much easier to determine their own safety margin as well as the most efficient grinding area for those players.

Dexterity not only ensured a player's hit rate, which was calculated by the system when using sword skills as well as when attacking, it determines how much damage was actually dealt to the monsters when they attacked. It was theoretically possible to actually hit the monster and for their attack to do zero damage at all due to the system calculating the dodge rate of the monsters.

Now it was something that many players don't really consider due to how dexterity was a very important stat for all players to consider as it helped not only with Hit-rate, it also determines the minimum damage range of each hit. The higher the dexterity, the closer it is to their maximum damage. One last thing that dexterity pays a part into was attack and dodge rate, which was tied together with Agility, the last stat of SAO. But those could be covered another time.

Back to defense, the true defense was calculated by adding their own innate defense on the equipment and armour they were wearing, and even those had to factor in their own durability as well when taking attacks. Like weapons, armour and shields had their own durability, and when that reaches zero, the defense that they provided immediately decreased tremendously. They were still 'worn', but for all instances, when they reached zero and until the armour was repaired, it was as good as useless.

..

Heathcliff did see instances when a weapon would break in the middle of battle, but he had yet to see a defensive equipment break in battle till he met Sachi. With each block and each parry, the durability of a shield would decrease. Being shields, they had much higher durability than weapons. Even so, Sachi had to switch shields during her time in the raid. Heathcliff was glad to see her switching out her boss drop, the Ancient Carapace early on for a more common small iron buckler, in the raid. She wasn't memorizing all the attack patterns of the monsters in the dungeon, she was viewing all of this in another view point. She was fighting, yes, but she was not fighting per the norms of SAO.

Heathcliff's own thoughts were interrupted when Sachi literally shoved him out of the way to guard an attack that he missed while deep in his thoughts. It was quite embarrassing to be caught in a slip up like that, and the commander of the Knights of the Blood gave a nervous chuckle even as Sachi dealt with that newest Mole monster by stabbing it between it's eyes brutally, shattering her short-sword in the process as well.

'Penny for your thoughts, Heathcliff-san?'

Sachi question made Heathcliff chuckle again before he remarked that perhaps he really was getting old for all this after seeing how Sachi was able to get herself through that mob that had attacked them without using system assist.

What's more, even if it's a small mob numbering only around four individuals, she had managed to despatch them all before Asuna and Kirito could arrive to back them all up.

She was not just a forward, she was perhaps a clearer in her own right, a one-person army by herself, that was what Healthcliff honestly thought for a moment as Sachi pulled out yet another short-sword to equip her left hand with.

'Pardon me?'

'No, it's nothing... I'm glad that I was able to meet you, Sachi-san.'

Heathcliff confessed honestly, causing the other two to look confused as Heathcliff chuckled softly while sheathing his sword. His eyes fixated on Sachi even as the younger girl tilted her head in confusion.

'… I … guess I am too, Heathcliff-san.'

* * *

..

'Did you really rent this place, Commander Heathcliff?'

'Just for tonight, Asuna-kun, it seems that the dungeon was bigger than we imagined if we are still unable to see the end of it. Renting it would also keep us safe for the night and a place to rest as well.'

Heathcliff replied even as he looked up from the messages that he had to reply from his prolonged absence. The four of them had been in the dungeon for half a day now, and they were nowhere near the end of the now expanded dungeon.

It was less about how slow they were able to defeat the monsters, or how large the dungeon or how fast the spawn rate of the monsters were in the place and more to do with how there were many small rooms that Sachi and Kirito insisted to investigate as well as to clear.

A good majority of them were bundled with traps too, and the two members of the Knight of the Blood were treated to how the Black Cats of the Full Moon dealt with those trap rooms. It was less of a battle as it was a massacre. The pick axes and shovels of the molemen were met with the swords and shields by the pair, who started their own dance of death as they simply hacked their way through those that were drawn to the calls of the trap. Sachi in front, Kirito at the back. Not once did Sachi falter, nor did Kirito back down from that dance that they shared.

With each monster that Kirito fell fell, with each guard that Sachi took for Kirito, their movements became more synchronized and more dazzling to watch. To the other two players, they seemed to be made for one another, alternatively between the forward and the rear guard. For each time Kirito's sword swept through the room multiple times to clear the room, Sachi was there to take on the next round of assaults from the cornered beasts. Likewise, when Sachi's own charge knocked the mob back, Kirito would sweep forward to decimate the ranks before Sachi would move forward again.

It was a practised routine that was perhaps perfected long before, and the two Knights of the Blood felt like they were intruding to something that they shouldn't have seen after Kirito and Sachi finally was able to clear the room by themselves.

..

'So we'll be staying the night then, Commander? We could use the crystals to go back, seeing how you've already received so many messages so far.'

Asuna pointed out even as she smiled while teaching Sachi how to clean up the kitchen that was probably left unused for years, or what could pass for years in Aincrad.

The four of them had stumbled upon a small cabin in the middle of the dungeon when Kirito's searching skill had discovered yet another hidden room in the dungeon. It reminded them of one of those wooden houses in a western movie, but since it was a building, and it apparently could even be rented, they had decided to spend the night there, seeing that it was getting quite late.

'Kirito-kun already mentioned that he was not getting dinner, nor was he allowed to return home before we successfully mapped the new areas in the dungeon, am I right, Kirito-kun?'

Heathcliff chuckled again even as Kirito rubbed his head in agreement.

'And even if we do teleport out, we'll have to make our way to this place again... But it's fine if Asuna and Heathcliff-san wants to head back.'

'And leave Kirito-kun alone with Sachi-san all alone here? We girls should stick together.'

Asuna stuck her tongue out at Kirito even as Sachi shook her head with a small smile.

'Kirito-kun wouldn't do anything to hurt me, Asuna-san.'

'Well, it's always better to be safe than sorry, Sachi-san. Let's hurry up with this so I can teach you how to cook.'

Asuna cheerfully waved away Sachi's protest and the girls resumed their own tasks in the kitchen even as Kirito sorted his own equipment carefully by himself.

..

'We'll be in your care tonight as well then, Heathcliff-san.'

Kirito spoke respectfully a while later just after Heathcliff closed his own navigation window with a sigh. It had been a tiring day, and if not for him sharing the dusty couch with Heathcliff, Kirito would have fallen asleep by now.

'No, it is our pleasure to spend the night with the two of you, I suppose it is too late to invite the two of you into our guild, Kirito-kun?'

Heathcliff asked, knowing the answer was obvious.

'Yes it is.'

But it was Sachi who answered him evenly as she brought out a tray with a pot of tea and some refreshments in the form of piping hot sweet potatoes.

'Sachi-san...?'

Heathcliff sensed an edge in Sachi's voice as she placed the tray down carefully on the coffee-table in front of them.

'The members of our guild are precious to me, Heathcliff-san. I would be betraying their trust and faith in me if I left. This is the last thing that they were able to give me, and I will always wear the name of the guild, Black Cats of the Full Moon, till the day I die. To do anything less, would not be befitting what they have already given me.'

Sachi answered softly before she left the two boys together, Heathcliff noting with marked interest at how Kirito was biting his own lip in agreement as well.

'The Black Cats of the Full Moon would never be disbanded as long as I am alive.'

Sachi repeated sternly even as she poured a cup of water for the boys.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for your support, and I'm flattered by all the interest. if you like it, tell me how I am doing too!**


	11. Forging Bonds

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 11— Forging Bonds**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: School + Work = Less time for writing, sorry everyone!**

**Thank you, ****_Bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

'So that's what happened... I'm sorry for raising it up in the first place, Kirito-kun.'

Heathcliff sighed as he smiled at Kirito, the younger boy looking apologetic as well. They were resting outside of the little cabin after that last fiasco that had raised the tension in the room for quite a bit.

Heathcliff was sure that Asuna was trying to get what had happened from Sachi now just like he did. It had taken a while to know what had happened, Kirito had been quite tight-lipped about it and after knowing what happened, Heathcliff did not hold it against him for doing so. Losing their precious guild mates in such a fashion would no doubt be traumatizing, but seeing how the two of them were able to recover from that loss in such a short while was both admirable as well as a cause of concern.

Even though Heathcliff knew that women in general were much better in dealing with stress and any psychological harm or trauma easier than man due to them being able and willing to talk, share and to seek help from friends about their condition, he doubted that Sachi had done so.

From his observations at how Sachi was able to mow down and to even take on foes in similar conditions to how her friends were killed so casually, she most likely had channelled all her energy, despair and strength to get over that fear.

Heathcliff hoped that at least Sachi was able to mourn for her loss like how Kirito-kun probably did. The boy was strong, but he had also been through quite a lot by himself, both as a _beater_ as well as a _solo_ and that meant that he was probably much better in dealing with such a traumatic situation.

At least Heathcliff hoped that was so.

'You didn't, it was Sachi... she's... never really gotten over it. Not... that I really blame her for it. I can't forgive myself too for what I did... I could have prevented it, but I didn't... That's my regret.'

'At least you were able to save Sachi-san.'

'… That's... I'm not so sure... that's the best thing.'

Kirito's words made Heathcliff pause as Kirito sighed while slipping down to sit on the dirt with a small grunt.

'I'm not so sure... what would I have done if I didn't save Sachi... would I have ended up like that too?'

Kirito asked quietly, the question not directed at Heathcliff but to himself even as the Commander of the Knights of the Blood simply remained quiet, lost in his own thoughts as well.

* * *

..

'It's really good, Asuna!'

Kirito couldn't help himself from exclaiming as he dug into the dinner that they had prepared from the materials that all of them had scrounged up together. Asuna was grateful for how her investment in the [Cooking] skill had paid off after seeing Kirito literally devouring his share of the food that she had prepared. It was a simple fair, the main course was a soup with a few side dishes of made most of vegetables like potatoes, turnips and carrots. There was one dish that was called 'mystery food x', not because it was not delicious, but rather the girls refused to tell the boys what meat it was made from.

'You're flattering me, Kirito-kun. It's not that good...'

Asuna blushed even as Sachi shook her head and said that Kirito was right.

'It's really really good, Asuna-san. You might even be better than Argo.'

'So the information gatherer cooks as well... but back to the topic. Asuna-kun, the food you prepared was simply divine. If I had known you had such skill... I would have never have taken so long to recruit you into our guild... Why don't you take up the position of Head Chef''

'Ahaha, you are really flattering me, Commander... but... I got here with my skills with my rapier. Not because of my cooking skills.'

Asuna gave a fierce and challenging glare to Heathcliff, it was obviously something that had struck a nerve, and her glare caused the older Knight to swallow a little before shaking his head.

'Are you certain, Asuna-kun? You would have no problems trying to conquer Aincrad with your cooking alone. All of us will be united under your cooking skills.'

Heathcliff sighed even as Sachi followed her example as she continued eating methodically, her chopsticks were moving at quite a fast pace despite the portion that she was eating was perhaps half of what Kirito-kun was desperately eating.

'Commander... did you forget what you told me...when you recruited me? Something... about how you would treat everyone equally with respect... regardless of gender, skill and level?'

Asuna was twitching in anger now, her entire body going rigid as cracks started forming in the porcelain cup that she was holding in her hands.

'How can food taste so good... I guess that's the power of a necessity... all of a sudden, it seems like the world is so much bigger and there are so many things that we have not experienced in Aincrad... To think that all this was prepared with D-grade materials... Unbelievable.'

Heathcliff was obviously not listening to Asuna at this point, not that he was the only one, Kirito too was nodding in agreement.

'I have decided on a course of action. Everyone, please listen to me.'

Heathcliff crossed his arms sternly even as Sachi and Asuna turned to look at him, expecting, anticipating and fearing his words all at the same time. Kirito on the other hand, continued eating till Sachi reached over to snatch the chopsticks out of his hand to get his attention.

Heathcliff ignored Kirito, who was trying to take back his pair of chopsticks from Sachi and continued, his eyes stern and serious as he declared emphatically to everyone.

'What we have witnessed, eaten and experienced today is truly something divine.. And as such, I shall propose this. Asuna-kun's cooking shall be a secret that shall be guarded on the pain of death within this circle of individuals here. This is not only to ensure that we would all continue to be allowed to partake in a slice of heaven in Aincrad, but to protect the rights, privacy, freedom and integrity of Asuna-kun. To all the members present today, I seek your cooperation to guard this secret with your life. If you do accept my proposal, all of you will be invited to partake in Asuna-kun's cooking at least once a week within the headquarters of the Knights of the Blood as my guest.'

..

'Wait, don't I get a say in this?!'

Even as Asuna tried to stop or to chastise Heathcliff for proposing such a ridiculous agreement for the sake of her cooking, she started to panic even more when Sachi stood up and offered her own terms a moment later.

The black-haired girl was unusually grim as she answered Heathcliff's proposal with serious expression as well.

'Three times a week, and we can invite Argo as well.'

'Only if Argo-san be subjected to the same restrictions, Sachi-san.'

'Argo is a person of her words. We will ensure that no one else discover this secret besides us.'

Sachi nodded her head firmly even as Heathcliff offered a hand to her in agreement, the Leader of the Knights of the Blood giving her a satisfied smile at the quick deduction by Sachi as well.

'Then we are in agreement. From this moment onwards, I, commander of the Knights of the Blood and the members of the Black Cats of the Full Moon shall defend this valuable asset with our lives.'

'With our lives.'

Sachi repeated softly as well, much to the utter horror of Asuna who believed that the two leaders of the guild had gone insane from her cooking. Desperate, she turned to Kirito for help, only to drop to her knees in despair at how Kirito too had gotten up in support of the idea.

'With our lives!'

'T-That's... that's it!'

After a few moments, Asuna finally snapped before shooting to her feet in anger, or perhaps in embarrassed fury at the three idiots in front of her. Who would ever think up such a stupid idea right off the bat?! Either her commander Heathcliff was insane, or she was at taking this idea too far. If this was what could be termed as a normal day in the Knights of the Blood, Asuna really regretted joining the guild in the first place!

Then again, Sachi and Kirito too, the two of them were obviously crazy enough to be led by Heathcliff-san in this little practical joke gone too far. Why was everyone so fixated over her cooking anyway?!

'Obviously some monster has caused the panic or the confused status on all of you. This joke has gone on long enough. Please pardon me, commander, Kirito-kun, Sachi-san... it will hurt... but I have no choice but to knock some sense into the three of you right now!'

She wasn't going to let the three of them have the chance to escape or to defend themselves!

Asuna grabbed a knife from the table before dashing forward, aiming for her commander in righteous fury. The familiar feeling of the system assist aiding her with the execution of [Linear] ensuring that her attack was flawlessly and hopelessly fast.

The sound of the knife striking porcelain could be heard even as Sachi blocked her attack by using an empty plate as a shield for her commander.

'What is this, Asuna-kun? Is this is a sign of mutiny? Men, our precious asset is attempting escape! As the leader of the Knights of the Blood and the proposal of this alliance, I hereby order that we show how Asuna-kun how serious we are regarding this!'

As Heathcliff ordered pompously, those who knew him would have stopped breathing for the smile he had on was a mischievous one, one that had not been seen in years even as the two younger individuals besides him grabbed their own 'weapons' from the table.

'Ahhh... Alright, alright! Since all of you are so serious about this... I'll play with you! If I win, the three of you will have to stop babbling about this embarrassing thing! I'm not JUST a cook! I'm a warrior! And labelling me in a role like that is PROHIBITED!'

An aura of overwhelming rage started to surround Asuna even as the other three realized that perhaps, maybe, Heathcliff's little joke had gone on a little too far. Was it really a joke? The two members of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] wasn't sure as Heathcliff simply roared with amusement as he pointed a fork at Asuna without flinching.

'That is the spirit worth of the deputy commander of the [Knights of the Blood]! Come, my men, onwards!'

..

What really happened that evening was lost to the annals of time, but what was certain was when the dust settled, Asuna was still able to lecture the other three about proper behavior, decorum and how they should always keep in mind the rights and feelings of others. What was also well known was how after that day onwards, the good relations between [Knights of the Blood] and the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] were firmly established between the leaders and influential members of the group.

Rumours had it that Heathcliff and Kirito became sworn brothers over their drinks in that small cabin, Sachi and Asuna became not just good friends but confidants as Sachi had been the one who had supposedly stopped the two parties from hurting each other in their mini-war.

There were of course other rumours like how Kirito had prostrated in front of Asuna while begging for the leftovers from their dinner and Heathcliff apparently discussing an entire list of inventories to be offered to Asuna for use in her kitchen with Sachi.

The most exaggerated one was of course the grand plans that the three of them drew for a huge kitchen for Asuna's own use in one of the floors of Aincrad.

The secrets of Asuna's legendary cooking skills were of course kept a secret from all the players from Argo till the game was cleared a year later on.

However, one thing definitely happened that day. And that was the sole reason that Asuna agreed to the wishes of the alliance that had been forged between the two guilds.

Asuna partook in the food that Heathcliff, Kirito and Sachi had prepared herself.

It was said that after that feat, Heathcliff had no choice but to declare that Asuna had proven herself more than capable of being the Commander of the [Knights of the Blood], much less of the deputy commander due to her courageous behavior.

How accurate those rumours were of course unverified and only the four members who were there on that day knew the truth of what happened that day.

* * *

..

'Where are you heading off by yourself, Sachi-san?'

Heathcliff was happy and proud to admit that it has been a very long since he had so much 'fun' in one day spending time 'playing' together with the younger players. He had always been outstanding even amongst the clearers due to his age and his choice of heavily customized armour that gave him the title of [Paladin] when he started to take a more active role within the clearers as well. It wasn't his doing at first, but he had ended up with players who were nearer his age of the 30s. Perhaps they just deviated to each other as their thought patterns and way of thinking were much more similar as compared to the younger generation of players.

So it was quite a treat as well as a refreshing change to see that there were still players out there who were still enjoying the game, experiencing it while still struggling within it.

Heathcliff could tell that Kirito-kun was enjoying himself when he fought, to a certain extent Asuna was the same as well. She was proud of her own skill and achievements in the game. Sachi on the other hand was trudging on along by herself with her goals and conviction within the game itself, probably to clear it with her own power.

Heathcliff was very glad that he had met the three different individuals and was happy that they had forged a bond and connection between them as well, ensuring that they would meet again. It was a pity that he couldn't persuade Sachi or Kirito to join his guild, but if they could continue the working relationship, and friendship that they had formed today, it would be close to having them in their guild anyway.

'… Heathcliff-san.'

Sachi answered him softly even as she equipped her shield, the Ancient Carapace even as she wore a wolf-skin cape as well. The new set of equipment made Heathcliff a little tense as he closed the door behind him. He had felt a disturbance in the living room here he and Kirito were sleeping in after letting the girls sleep in the only available room in the cabin.

When he sat up, he was quick enough to see that it was Sachi who had left the cabin by herself and had given chase.

'Well? Are you going out hunting again?'

Heathcliff asked patiently even as he started to equip his own shield as Sachi looked unsure how to reply. It wasn't a guilty look, she was just unsure of how to answer and by the time she started again, Heathcliff was beside her.

'Yes I am. We are just a few tens left of meeting the hidden-boss.'

Sachi spoke softly even as Heathcliff raised an eyebrow at her words.

'Hidden-boss?'

..

'So... the hidden-boss of each race would only appear after you kill a set number of monsters within one raid?'

Heathcliff asked patiently even as Sachi nodded in agreement.

'I can't tell you how many, or which Mini-boss races I have defeated. It's confidential. Even Argo doesn't know all the prerequisites of all the hidden-bosses.'

No doubt that Wolf-skin was one of the rare monster-drops from the hidden-boss of the Wolf Race. Heathcliff gave a crooked grin even as he asked Sachi whether it was alright to tell him that.

'Kirito-kun knows as well. But he too doesn't know the prerequisites... and you would follow me no matter what, Heathcliff-san. It is more efficient if I at least told you that much.'

'That's true, is this the first time that you had sneaked away at night by yourself? What if the hidden-boss killed you? What would Kirito-kun think?'

Heathcliff wasn't blaming the girl, he was just curious as to what her reaction would be and was reminding her of what would happen if she failed. Just like how he knew that Asuna-kun had feelings for Kirito-kun, Sachi herself had her own feelings for Kirito as well.

'I won't fail.'

'It's good to be confident and all, but Sachi-san, did you ever fight in the front-lines before. Bosses are on a different level, it's practically impossible to stop a boss's attack or charge by a single player, no matter what your level is. It just doesn't work that way. You might be able to block it's attacks, but that doesn't mean you can hold it off forever..'

Perhaps it was possible when SAO was a MMORPG and not a VRMMORPG. In MMORPG, players could select to play in different views, first player or third player and in general players would prefer third players as it would give them a much better grasp of the situation around them, as compared to in first player where they would be limited to what they could see or pick up with their eyes, their sense of touch and their hearing.

It was something that was quite manageable until one saw how big some of the monsters could be, in such a situation any and every information they could gleam of their surroundings would be important. Missing and being attacked from behind from another monster just because one was distracted could mean the difference of life and death. As such, Heathcliff wondered if Sachi really considered how fragile the players were in the game, especially since she wasn't as high level as any one of them. Even if Sachi had grown two levels today due to the sheer amount of monsters they had cleared, it also showed that she was quite a few levels apart.

It wasn't all bad though as SAO was still governed by the game mechanics itself, and that meant that if the players level themselves enough, the lower floor monsters who might be gigantic still couldn't match up to them. Just like how Heathcliff was able to stall a boss once with his shield. The way the monster flailed at him was terrifying, and the deterioration rate was much higher than his own regeneration rate, it was just stalling for time and not really how a forward and a tank should ideally function.

Such was the unfairness of the levelling system, but it was also a system that they had to work with since they were stuck with it.

'I know. But I won't fall against a hidden-boss. I made a promise... and I intend to keep it. It might be one that I might be unable to truly fulfil or to keep, but if I myself do not believe in it or to act on it... no one will.'

Sachi's answer made Heathcliff pause, it wasn't that Sachi didn't have confidence in herself, she also knew about the perils and dangers of being over-confident in SAO, but the fact remained that for Sachi, if she did not show that confidence in the first place, she won't believe in herself.

It was such a looping ideal that it made Heathcliff chuckle at the sheer incredulous state Sachi was in. It was both admirable as well as pitiful, but more on the former. Sachi was still a diamond in the rough, but her brilliance as well as determination made Heathcliff fired up as well.

'Well, I won't let you die today, Sachi-san, if you would accept my assistance?'

Sachi paused even as she equipped yet another brand new short-sword before turning to bow to him.

'… Please, Heathcliff-san, I would be in your care then.'

For a moment, her eyes showed her fear even as Heathcliff smiled to reassure her.

'I will guard you with this shield of mine, Sachi-san. An ally and friend of mine would never fall in front of me.'

Heathcliff didn't know that those words echoed what Kirito had told Sachi quite a while ago, causing the girl to blush a little before she regained control of her emotions again.

'Shall we? We should be back in around an hour.'

Sachi declared even as Heathcliff gave a crooked grin in response, Sachi-san was harder to tease than Asuna-san as she was perhaps more mature in her ways. But that wasn't a bad thing, he did always admire and was attracted to serious, responsible individuals after all.

* * *

..

Even as the two of them left, there was another individual who was peeping from the windows and who had witnessed the entire exchange. She was a little too far to hear what was being exchanged, but Asuna found herself unsure how to truly react to what she had witnessed.

Asuna was pretty sure that today was the first meeting between Commander Heathcliff and Sachi-san, but from the two's quick exchange, the two of them looked as if they were old acquaintances that were sneaking away by themselves.

It was suspicious, really suspicious and her curiosity was getting the better of her by the moment.

After all, Commander Heathcliff was a very different person from how Asuna had imagined him to be. She had of course seen him in battle before, heard him give speeches during the clearer meetings as well as his prowess and ability in battle. She had always viewed him as a serious individual who is both stern and kind, and yet could not tolerate any nonsense. Kind of like the disciplinarian of a school actually. Perhaps kind of fatherly as well if one looked beyond that gruff exterior of his.

But it turned out that he was perhaps closer to them than she had thought. Commander Heathcliff was as serious and stern like she had imagined, but he had also been quite happy to chat with them, to offer advice and to even crack a few jokes with them. He wasn't like a disciplinarian after all, more of like the home-room teacher who couldn't keep himself smiling at the class during home-room, the kind who would buy food for the students out of his own pocket to celebrate their good results at exams and to even stay back to help them with their class's activities.

He was nice, and she was very glad that she had agreed to join the KoB, even if the joke earlier had gone too far.

But to see him pay so much attention on Sachi... well, it wasn't odd, seeing how he already mentioned that he was curious about her. But Asuna just felt that his interest on her was still a bit too much.

'Where are they going anyway?'

* * *

**Author's Notes: This is one of those chapters that happen once in a blue moon. Hope everyone got a laugh out of it!**


	12. Engagement

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 12— Forging Bonds**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Another one of of many technical battle scenes I struggle with, but I digress.**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity _****for the beta!**

* * *

..

The battle between Sachi and Heathcliff against the hidden-boss of the mole race, Muook the Gravedigger happened quite abruptly after Sachi announced that it was probably time after striking down yet another Mole by herself.

Even if the dungeon was lit by lanterns that were hung a set distance from each other evenly throughout the tunnel, there were a few areas which were pitch black due to the landslide that Kirito had caused earlier on in the day.

That said, the entire dungeon were not filled with just tunnels and rooms, there were several large caves that served as inter-connectors to different tunnels that helped them to pinpoint their location.

Sachi and Heathcliff had headed for the nearest one even as they cleared the mobs as quickly as possible to get to that area. With Sachi switching out the basic shield and armor for her boss drop equips, the two were able to kill the mole mobs easily, even without the assistance of Kirito and Asuna. Heathcliff looked on oddly as Saichi's fighting style changed. She was far more reckless now, barely blocking or parrying, instead choosing to kill the mole mobs as quickly as she could with her usual stabbing, slashing and skewing style. Heathcliff kept his thoughts to himself however as he helped carry the pace forward by himself as well.

With the announcement that the prerequisite for the hidden-boss was probably achieved now, Sachi and Heathcliff simply waited for the signs that the boss was approaching.

The sign that they received was of the lanterns being switched off one by one around them.

'That's bad, watch my back, Sachi-san!'

When Heathcliff realized what was going on, he ran forward towards the nearest lantern even as Sachi nodded, raising her shield to guard Heathcliff even as he tried to grab the lantern for his own use.

Heathcliff's warning helped as Sachi was able to block a huge paw that burst out of the ground with her shield successfully without any repercussions for her or Heathcliff. When the [Paladin] was able to retrieve the lantern, he called back in worry even as the entire cave was shrouded in darkness save for the small orange glow from the lantern that Heathcliff was holding on.

'Are you alright, Sachi-san? That was close, I did not expect it to start turning off the lights... But we should have... We'll be in a disadvantage since we can't see it.'

'And being moles, they can still see or at least detect us.'

Sachi finished even as she gave an audible sigh in disappointment.

'… I'm sorry, Heathcliff-san.'

The sudden apology made Heathcliff confused before he realized what Sachi was referring to.

'You said it yourself, you wouldn't fall in front of a hidden-boss. Didn't you say that you believe in yourself?'

Heathcliff answered patiently and confidently even as Sachi fidgeted slightly before she straightened her back again.

'… I still have a way to go then.'

Sachi's soft words made Heathcliff chuckle even as the two forwards had their backs against each other. Unfortunately due to how Heathcliff had to carry the lantern, he was unable to use sword. If they were attacked, Heathcliff would no doubt be unable to defend himself that easily.

'Heathcliff-san, I have a suggestion that might help.'

'Oh, I'm all ears.'

As Sachi detailed and explained her plan to Heathcliff, the [Paladin] gave her yet another confident smile as he agreed to it.

'That seems to be the best option we have yet. How long do you think we should wait before I can open my eyes again?'

'Twenty seconds would do... in that meantime, why don't you have one of these?'

Heathcliff blinked before he caught the potion that Sachi had thrown to him.

'It's a regeneration potion. It would work even if your HP is full, Heathcliff-san. The effects would last for around 30 seconds or so.'

Sachi gulped down a potion of her own before Heathcliff did so too, the potion itself wasn't bitter or disgusting, but it definitely had the medicinal taste that people would dislike.

As though that was the declaration of the start of the battle with the Hidden-boss when Heathcliff tossed the lantern away and closed his eyes to get then accustomed to the darkness, a few moles started popping out from the ground around them even as Heathcliff started counting down.

'I'm depending on you, Sachi-san.'

Heathcliff spoke patiently even as he gulped the potion as well, watching Sachi take on the moles without any hesitation, her short sword stabbing and piercing into the foes in front of her. Like how she had done so before, the mole mobs were taken care of relatively easily but that was just the start of it all as when twenty seconds was up, the light from the lantern going out in the process.

'Brace yourself, Healthcliff-san.'

Sachi warned even as the sounds of something emerging from the ground could be heard from below them.

With a shield in hand, her senses trying their best to pinpoint the boss's location till it burst out from behind Heathcliff, the giant paw slamming down on him.

..

'Heathcliff-san!'

Even if her eyes weren't fully used to it, Sachi was still able to catch Heathcliff's turning around to block the blow in what seemed to be inhuman speed. It wasn't a perfect block, but it was good enough to neutralize the majority of the damage even as Sachi charged forward to take Heathcliff's place as the forward.

Even if she knew that attack wasn't enough to kill him outright, what with the regeneration potion being able to keep his life replenishing even if he took a critical hit, it was still quite a scary moment.

But now the battle was on, even if her eyes were not quite used to the darkness just yet, she was still able to strike a crucial blow by digging her short sword into the palm of it's right paw, kind akin to how one would feel pain when having a tooth pick pierced into one's palm. That wound wasn't big, but would still hurt as Sachi had given up on that Short-sword when Muook shook its paws desperately in a bid to shake free the lodged sword, giving Sachi enough time to form a line with Heathcliff to take on the field boss.

'It's not as tough as it looks.'

Sachi commented softly even as Heathcliff drew his own sword while waiting for the boss to attack. It was just too dangerous right now, seeing that it was thrashing about and all that.

'But it's still dangerous. I wouldn't want to chase it when it tries to escape. We should defeat it as soon as possible.'

Heathcliff suggested even as Sachi nodded in agreement before charging forward to bash her shield into the stomach of Muook, causing it to scream in anger even as Sachi stabbed into Muuok's exposed stomach before jumping back to block one of the mole's sweeping attacks while allowing Heathcliff to charge in unimpeded to attack the hidden-boss as well.

'Switch!'

After a few clear and clean strikes to the boss's exposed abdomen due to Sachi's blocking the blows raining down on him, Heathcliff stood his ground to take on the Mole's attacks again. The gap between each switch was about 15 seconds, a timing that was estimated based on the rate of deterioration that he could able to see from Sachi's HP bar on his own display screen, she could probably take a few more blows from Muook the Gravedigger, but it was probably a risk that he was not willing to take.

Even if they were fighting in the dark, they could still have a clear look at their display screens without any problem. That said, their eyes had gotten adjusted to the light earlier due to how they had closed one eye in order to make the acclimatization faster.

That said, Sachi's approach to switching was as unconventional as her style for even if she did charge forward to bash it with her shield, Heathcliff certainly did not expect her to use herself and her shield like a battering ram to strike it straight between the neck and its chest.

The loud scream from the huge mole as well as the chunk of HP that was taken out in an instant was enough to show how effective that blow was even as Sachi made full use of the opportunity to retrieve her previous short-sword and to plant it deep into what appeared to be the wrist of the monster without any hesitation at all.

People take their lives by slitting their wrists due to how there was a large collection of blood vessels that was located just below it, making it not just easily accessible, but also very dangerous. Once severed, the likelihood that the individual would die from excessive bleeding was not uncommon. It was also however quite difficult to cut open one's wrist, the human body was created to survive in the world after all, and if one was really so fragile, a huge portion of the population would never even reach the age of twenty due to how accident prone we all were. Sachi reasoned that since it applied for people in real life, why not the players and the humanoid monsters? Not that Sachi _ever_ got the chance to actually do that kind of attack.

SAO was as amazing as it promised to be as Muook screamed loudly in pain even as it tried to pull the short-sword out from where Sachi had left it. The boss's HP bar had decreased significantly, and Heathcliff silently noted that it was more focused in getting the shortsword out, even as it blindly slashed out at them with its paws. Yet it couldn't remove the sword due to how small its handle was.

The fact that there was a lack of foresight concerning this matter was enough to cause Heathcliff to sigh even as Sachi gave him a confused look.

'Perhaps you were right before... that there was no way that you would fall from a hidden-boss like this one.'

The unorthodox methods of slaying monsters were... as effective as they were disturbing. Heathcliff couldn't help but be worried that Sachi was too optimistic about going to the front-lines, seeing how the bosses they were facing were much stronger in both physical attributes, design and abilities than this one. It was not going to be that easy to replicate this feat for the boss fights in the future.

But... it wouldn't hurt to encourage Sachi a little even as she nodded in affirmative before charging forward again, this time ready to end the battle even as Heathcliff readied his shield to guard this little enigma that he was sure would change the world of SAO by storm.

* * *

..

The battle was vicious as well as it was short, Sachi and Heathcliff making it seem so easy even as they switched in and out of combat. But the pace was definitely set by Sachi as she effectively crippled the hidden-boss not once by stabbing it's eyes, but twice as she delivered yet another debilitating blow by impaling another short-sword deep into the palms of its other paw, leaving it literally helpless as it flailed away.

Even if it tried to escape by burrowing, Heathcliff would stop it's attempt by slashing it's more vulnerable abdomen to coax it to attack again, even as Sachi defended against those clumsy attempts.

Even if it would try to attack, it was severely limited by its crippled and damaged limbs to apply enough pressure or focus on it's attacks, making it child's play for the two players to render those attacks meaningless.

It wasn't a battle at all, it was like a slaughter, the methodical and helpless slaughtering of that poor giant moleman by Sachi and Heathcliff as the only thing it had going for it was its three HP-bars that were now reduced to a single one, and which was still decreasing with every moment.

For the two warriors who had taken up the challenge against it, their own HPs were not even in the orange zone, a sign of how one-sided the encounter was or simply how it had been effectively crippled.

Still, it was never over till the boss was dead. In SAO, the unexpected were the main causes of death and defeat in the game, and this was no exception as there would be a change in attack patterns when the mole monster would hit the final quarter of its HP bar.

'Be careful, Sachi-san, it's almost time.'

Heathcliff for his part offered his warning even as he leapt clear of the monster's attack range when it became clear that it was almost that time. Sachi however, paused for a second before bringing her shield up again while not budging from her spot at all.

'I'll hold its attack back, Heathcliff-san, please finish it and deliver the final blow as quickly as you can.'

Sachi's suggestion was made solely on the grounds that Heathcliff was a much better damage dealer than she was, but Heathcliff didn't think that was the case. Sachi's unorthodox attacking methods enabled her to deal as much damage as he could by himself over the same period. Besides, asking a lower levelled player to act as a forward him was... nothing short of an insult.

So Heathcliff wasn't having it and instead of positioning himself for the final charge on the boss, he sighed and stood beside Sachi instead, raising his shield in the customary defensive position even as Sachi voiced her confusion as well.

'Heathcliff-san? What is the matter? You are more suitable to end it after all.'

'Sachi-san, perhaps I don't understand your resolve and what you wish to accomplish with your actions.'

..

Heathcliff spoke patiently even as he blocked another slow attempt by the Mole boss to attack the two of them, shrugging off the paw that tried to crush them with no effort at all.

'But I would not back down from a fight that my ally has taken up. That is the promise of a forward, the promise of a knight. Let me guard you while you accomplish your mission.'

Heathcliff gave Sachi a small smile even as she sighed in reply.

'Is that a promise to me, or to your allies in general, Heathcliff-san? I did not believe that you would hit on me. '

Sachi's words caused Heathcliff to chuckle as he discovered that Sachi had a sense of humor after all, even if it wasn't a very funny joke on her part. He had been sincere in his promise!

'Who knows about that, but it's a promise of a forward. As a forward, I will never retreat from a battle, especially if I have promised to aid them. A forward only holds the front, that is what they should be focused on.'

'l see.. and I assume you are my forward in this battle, Heathcliff-san?'

'Naturally, I offered you my aid, I intend to keep my side of the bargain.'

Sachi's answer didn't seem too enthusiastic or touched by his words, but she did shift slightly, giving Heathcliff more room to maneuver with her by his side, a sign that she accepted his offer to help.

Sachi wasn't arrogant, well, perhaps she was a little with her own abilities. Or perhaps she was simply too confident in her abilities to accept another's help, no one could really tell for sure unless they asked her directly. Even then, it was purely subjective as well for she might have her own reasons to be hesitant and unwilling to accept help.

But Sachi definitely stood there, waiting, fighting even as the boss's HP bar finally dropped to the crucial red level due to the injuries that she and Heathcliff had caused, causing it to bellow in rage.

..

Even as the two warriors watched, the fur of Muook the Gravedigger slowly turned red even as its claws lengthen in length as well as sharpness. As it swiped it's claws in response to the two of them again, they could tell that its speed has dramatically increased for Heathcliff almost failed to block its attack in time this time.

Even as Heathcliff dealt damage to its right claw, Sachi saw her chance to repeatedly stab the struggling paw with her short-sword to inflict as much damage as possible to it before it could retract it.

'Switch!'

Heathcliff called out even as he jumped back instead of continuing to hold off the beast's attack, allowing Sachi to take his place even as Muook mole stumbled slightly due to the lost in resistance from Heathcliff, causing it to lose balance.

With Muook unbalanced, Sachi saw her chance and she smiled slightly even as she shoved hard on the other flailing paw that was trying to catch it's before it fell over, thereby causing it to flail about even more pathetically as it lost the battle spectacularly.

Without its centre of gravity, the gigantic mole fell onto its side, screaming in anger even as Heathcliff took his chance to advance as well, raising his shield to catch the careless sweep by Muook to try and attack them again.

Easily shoving the attack aside again, Heathcliff charged forward to unleash a devastating slash with his sword with the [Crescent Slash] Skill, a skill that placed all of his strength and back-swing into the attack. It was a powerful move with a very short start-up time but it would cause quite a long cool-down that restricted Heathcliff to use that skill sparingly.

With Sachi guarding him, Heathcliff felt confident enough to use that skill even though it wasn't enough to outright kill the beast.

As the skill connected and the damage calculated and inflicted to the beast, Heathcliff heard Sachi give a warning even as she charged forward herself, meeting the beast's claws with her shield.

'Heathcliff-san, behind you!'

Sachi's warning gave him enough time to bring his shield up again to block another attempt by Muook even as he saw Sachi struggling with the other claw that she had blocked for him.

..

It was a surreal sight, the two paws of the hidden boss being blocked and held at bay by the two smaller players easily while the two of them spoke to each other.

'Can you repeat that skill, Heathcliff-san? One more hit and you would be able to kill it.'

'The final attack bonus should belong to you, Sachi-san, you were the one who drew it out after all.'

'But it might take a while, Heathcliff-san, please, end it quickly.'

Sachi asked calmly but she winced a little as the Mole roared in anger, applying more pressure on her even as Heathcliff continued to hold if off easily.

The difference in the two's investment in strength was staggering, but that didn't mean that Sachi was unable to hold the monster at bay with her lower strength stat.

Sachi's higher vitality stat was the key, for it added to her invisible and unknown defensive stats, causing her to take less damage from the mole's attack, thus enabling her to hold off the monster with her shield. Heathcliff's investment in strength was much higher than Sachi's and it showed for when Heathcliff saw Sachi struggling, he shoved back hard as well, causing the Mole to be pinned against the wall after a few minutes.

'Please, go ahead, Sachi-san, I will definitely hold it off.'

'Understood, I'll be counting on you, Heathcliff-san.'

After a short pause, in which Sachi saw Heathcliff nod his head in encouragement, she stopped defending against the paw. Instead she parried it, allowing it to push her back even as the monster's claw screeched against her shield to slam down on the floor instead.

Taking the opportunity, Sachi dug her short sword into the monster's wrist before wrenching it free to meet its counter-attack head on without hesitation.

..

Monsters and players were only limited by their own attack speed when it comes to attacks. For players like Asuna, who had an amazing attack speed, they were able to attack multiple times, sometimes striking twice to stop the monster's attack before it could deliver it.

Others, like Sachi, who was only as fast, or perhaps even slower than the monsters they were facing, they had no choice but to meet the monster's attack head on or to endure the damage that they might face from the attacks while making their own. This wasn't a turn-based attack game, where each one of them would take turns to attack. This was combat in real time, where everything counts and would contribute to victory or defeat. And amongst all the monsters that Sachi faced so far, this was definitely the biggest, strongest and highest level monster of all.

Her build, style as well as Heathcliff's and Kirito's assistance might have allowed her to hold her own against almost all of the monster's attack she had faced so far. But Sachi had sorely underestimated the buff and subsequently the difference in strength that the last attack pattern has given the hidden-boss.

Similar to how Sachi had matched the Ant Queen in the Ant Colony with a combination of her own superior stats and the weapon that she had crafted, adding on with it's own mass and attack meant that it stood no chance. Muook liberally used its strength, mass as well as it's enhanced speed to slam it's claws against Sachi, sweeping and knocking her into the air with its follow-up counter-attack.

One had to question why Sachi had not been blown away before, seeing how she had taken more than a few hits from the monster in front of her, and that was due to how she had always matched an attack with a guarding manoeuvre or an attack of her own, cancelling the momentum that the monster had built up before.

But Sachi was unprepared for this attack, and even her higher vitality stat was unable to counter the power and momentum of the attack, hence her being knocked flying by the attack like a rag doll, crashing into the floor heavily the next moment.

'S-Sachi-san? U-Ugh…'

Heathcliff cried out in surprise at the unexpected act of seeing Sachi being swept away like she was nothing but the small girl that she appeared to be. But Sachi was more than that, and that's why the sight of her being swept away like that stunned Heathcliff for just a second. Even if he could see that Sachi's HP barely reached the red level with that attack, he was still distracted sufficiently for the Muook the Gravedigger to be able to start putting pressure on him as well.

..

Now Heathcliff was one of the best forwards of the game, that much was a given, but as a forward, like how he had said earlier, his main role was to hold the front lines, to hold the monster's attention even as his teammates cut them down on his behalf. His job, was to protect them, to ensure that they would be safe with his life.

It could be said that the entire team's life was resting on his shoulders, and a loss of concentration could cause the team their lives. But Heathcliff still made that rookie mistake, for he was unable to believe his eyes at the sight of the young girl who had showed so much promise get blown away like that, possibly to her death too.

Part of it was shock, another part of it was something he didn't know that caused him to hesitate just for a moment. That moment was enough to give the mole monster time to shove Heathcliff out of position and to start wailing on him aggressively with it's claws.

As it attacked, the short sword that had been impaled into it's paw shattered, freeing it to unleash a sword skill that Heathcliff recognized as [Area Smash], a mace type of sword skill that would not only cause an area of effect damage, but would cause a small knockback effect as well.

'Heathcliff-san!'

Heathcliff could hear Sachi crying out in shock but he was unable to respond as he barely had time to bring his shield up to block the attack.

'Heathcliff-san!'

..

Something in Sachi snapped the moment the monster's attack struck Heathcliff, kicking up a large cloud of dust that obscuring the entire room, making it impossible for her to make out what was happening in the cave that was plunged in darkness.

She had vowed not to let that happen ever again, for her to be the shield of others, to never, ever, allow someone to die because of her mistakes. She had slipped up, and Heathcliff-san was paying for it. Even if he might be the best forward in the game, and possibly the best player, all of that was lost on Sachi as she found her anger growing with every passing moment. She was mad at herself for that mistake, but another part of her was mad at the monster for doing that to Heathcliff.

The fact that she could verify Heathcliff's survival by checking her display window was also lost to her, if she did, she'll be amazed as well as disturbed to see that Heathcliff's HP still remained yellow despite taking that attack head on without even being able to guard properly like how she suffered from earlier.

As the dust cloud slowly settled, even as the sounds of battle raged on, the two combatants locked in combat froze suddenly as they felt an aura wash over them, an aura of aggression, of rage and perhaps the promise of violence being unleashed on them. When faced with such an aura, the two combatants, player and monster turned to look at the sight of Sachi slowly walking towards them, her shield in her right and her short sword in the left.

Why she was more menacing now was apparently how the wolf-skin that she was wearing had contributed to a clearly visible red aura around her that seemed to grow with every moment. It was probably an optical illusion, but Heathcliff didn't want to find out for he clearly hesitated when facing Sachi like that.

Sachi's HP was at the critical red level, that was clearly the case, but when Sachi raised her short sword up in a challenging fashion to the monster, Heathcliff swore that her HP level dip slightly even as she smiled in a feral fashion at the two of them, even showing some teeth as she jerked her wrist, taunting Muook to attack her.

Heathcliff couldn't read the expression clearly on her face due to the darkness, but he was certain it was a terrifying one for Sachi's presence was enough to cause the Mole monster to scream in rage before it ignored him to lumber towards her as fast as it could.

For some reason the monster's attention continued to stay fixated on Sachi and it dismissed Heathcliffs own attacks as it raised its claw again in the same attack position that had caused Sachi to be knocked away in the first place.

'Sachi-san!'

Heathcliff cried out in worry this time even as the monster attacked, Sachi giving her own battle cry as she charged forward as well.

* * *

**Author's Notes: A Cliffie!**


	13. A Long Night

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 13— A Long Night**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: It's a long night for me too... Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

'Are you sure that you would want to give this to me?'

Heathcliff was uncertain whether he could accept the material that was the Last Attack Bonus drop from Sachi after the battle had ended. It was a fine battle in Heathcliff's eyes, and he could definitely see the extent of Sachi's determination as she had held off Muook by herself till Heathcliff had managed to whittle the monster's HP down. The last silver of his HP was extremely difficult to deal with, probably due to how it was regenerating HP just like the two of them were. Still, the last attack bonus had fittingly been given to Sachi, who had fought furiously while matching Muook's attacks blow by blow, without exception.

Sachi's attacks were more furious than he had ever seen her unleash before and she was of course still brutal with her execution

'It is fine, please accept it as a gesture of gratitude for your assistance tonight. Without Heathcliff-san, I might not be able to survive this night.'

'You are being modest, you would definitely have been able to triumph against the Hidden-Boss by yourself despite the scare you gave me before. But... is this truly fine? It could be a material to create a new shield after all. I'm sure you would like to use it.'

'At the moment I am still in the midst of refining one of my other shields... so please, accept it and use it. If we were to form a party again, it would not matter whose shield it is as long as it is used to protect all of us.'

Sachi's words made Heathcliff pause before he asked whether she did get any drop as well.

'Yes, I was able to obtain a new pair of gloves. It would provide me with ten percent extra dexterity with the drawback being a five percent drop in speed.'

'Another rare and unique equipment for you, Sachi-san? Now I do understand why you would want to keep this a secret. The equipment that you've gotten are considered boss-drops and thus could be upgraded multiple times. Perhaps this material would create a similar unique shield as well...'

Heathcliff mused even as Sachi shrugged while saying that it doesn't really matter to her for it was difficult enough to meet the prerequisite of meeting the hidden-boss in the first place. If they had not been forced to re-map the dungeon all over again, she would never have even been able to meet this particular one in any rate.

'As Kirito-kun and I spend longer time training in an area than most other parties, it is not difficult to imagine that most of them would quit the party or to leave the location after a certain amount of time. Thus one could argue that the two of us would be the only people stubborn enough to meet the hidden-boss of the area.'

That made sense, Heathcliff knew that he wouldn't have the patience to kill a ridiculously huge number of wolves before he could face a monster which was totally unknown, or whether he would even be able to get the chance in the first place. The risks, not to mention unpredictability involved were simply too much for such a small return, if there was even one at all.

'That... said.'

Sachi paused halfway as she spoke, and Heathcliff, being the gentleman that he was, waited patiently even as the two of them continued to rest in that same cave that Muook had utterly wrecked after clashing with Sachi. They were exhausted, and even if Muook the Gravedigger was nowhere strong to a field boss, Muook's last stage was almost as difficult as a floor boss and seeing that there were only the two of them to take it down, perhaps Sachi was saying the truth earlier, that she would have died if she had met it alone.

'Thank you, for your help... and I'm sorry for getting you hurt because of my failure, Heathcliff-san.'

Sachi apologized to Heathcliff not quietly and not in embarrassment. It took her awhile to find the words that she wanted to say as she was a little distracted, and she continued on after a short pause.

'Heathcliff-san's words, about the promise of a forward... was it something that you made up by yourself? Or was it... real?'

Heathcliff looked affronted at Sachi's suggestion, but since he could see that Sachi had an odd expression on her face, he simply replied that it wasn't the case and that it was something that many players who took forward roles have came to agree on.

'I see... then I guess I'm not a forward.'

Sachi's statement made Heathcliff frown but he allowed Sachi to continue even as she unequipped her unique shield to wear one of her spare ones instead.

..

'A forward should put the party's life before their own, and they should trust their party members to not only depend on them, but to depend on them as well... is that right?'

'Yes, that's right, what are you getting to, Sachi-san?'

'That I'm not a forward... for I did not trust you enough, Heathcliff-san... till the end, I'm just a shield.'

Sachi answered patiently and she wasn't lamenting that fact. She actually looked a little proud at her declaration as Heathcliff waited for her to continue.

When it was clear that she wasn't going to, Heathcliff prodded her to continue and the black-haired girl paused for a moment before nodding.

'I'm just a shield in the end. I... I made a promise that I won't fail, and that I would protect him from all that happened... But a shield could only protect one person. No matter how strong I am, how dedicated I am... perhaps, I won't even be able to protect him if I could slip up so easily like I did earlier.'

Sachi was no doubt bitter about what had happened before despite it not being her fault, well it was her fault for underestimating the monster, but honestly it was the mechanics that caused her downfall. The mechanics of the game was unfair by itself, and even if Heathcliff did not know that Sachi herself was not prone to abusing the system's flaws as well as it's strengths, he felt that she was being too hard on herself as she had circumvented most of the system's rules and mechanics in the first place!

'You did very well by yourself, Sachi-san. I doubt that I could match up to the hidden-boss as well as you did at the closing stages.' Heathcliff was being modest for her sake and Sachi knew it too for she gave him a dry look before sighing.

'It was my mistake that might have possibly caused your death, Heathcliff-san. In no way should you be joking about it.'

'No, it was my fault for not even considering the fact that you might be bested, Sachi-san.'

'...And just with that admission, it is obvious that I have failed to meet your expectations.'

Sachi didn't seem disappointed or bitter at her assessment of her performance, at least not as much as she had already been as she had reverted to her usual emotionless expression.

'No, it was due to a miscalculation on my part. Like you, I have grossly underestimated how dangerous the boss was at the last attack pattern change, it happens to the best of us... this is Sword Art Online after all, the unpredictable is the norm.'

Heathcliff answered as though it was the most normal thing to do, but sadly Sachi was not having it as she literally snarled as she shook her head in disagreement.

'Then perhaps we are giving the 'system' too much credit. For a learning system, changing the attack pattern and the rules so drastically... it is not giving the players any chance to go against it despite us circumventing many other rules in our attempts to slay it. Perhaps I am wrong in my view and wish that the system should be 'fair' to give the players a chance to 'win', merely by my wish I am acknowledging as well as dismissing the system all at once. This is a cruel game, and if we just accept it, for the unpredictability to be the norm, it _would_ be the norm. I do not wish to be ruled by such a 'system'.'

Sachi growled angrily even as Heathcliff filed away Sachi's comments in his mind. She had just declared something incredible like she was circumventing or actively getting by the system of SAO to deal more damage than it was natural by means that was yet unknown to him just yet.

'Since you acknowledge the 'system' as well, you should be also be aware of the potential dangers when we are facing the unknown. Even if we have little choice in us facing the unknown, but all we can do is to prepare ourselves the best we can. Even if I do acknowledge and agree with you about how we are, perhaps, ruled by the 'system' like you are saying, we are still unable to circumvent this particular point, the 'unknown' that we are still facing. In many ways, we can still call it a double edged sword for a randomly generated drop/gear would be in our favor when it comes to boss drops as well, yes?'

'Heathcliff-san?'

'You should never assume or predict or to even rely on your own calculations. For SAO was never meant to be calculated like that, it was meant to be experienced as well as learnt. Just like how you were able to handle as well as to hold off the boss at the final stage, you should come to terms with how the unknown is always with us.'

Heathcliff explained as well as warned Sachi with a warm smile, causing the girl to pause before shaking her head.

'… … I still failed as a forward... I, I am sorry for not meeting your expectations, Heathcliff-san.'

From how Sachi dismissed or was not pursuing the conversation again, Heathcliff had won this round... but even he was unable to know that this would be the first of many discussions and debates with Sachi over this topic.

'That is hardly further away from the truth, you performed much better than I could ever expect, Sachi-san. Especially how you were able to defend and guard yourself from a boss that had a higher level than you... You should be proud of yourself, not disappointed.'

Heathcliff tried to encourage the girl, but she was not having it as she flatly refused to say anything further. Perhaps he had offended her or her pride at some point?

That said, Heathcliff did note that the combat presence that she had held ever since he had met her had wavered completely earlier and had not recovered to the same intensity as before. At least now he was certain that she was every part of the girl, sensitive feelings and all, that she appeared to be.

That thought confused him for a moment, not for long, but it still did as he followed Sachi's lead, the young guild leader making her way back to the cabin wordlessly with Heathcliff escorting her. Heathcliff didn't make a remark about how he was 'guarding' her as well as she was not paying attention to her surroundings in as much detail as she used to.

She still managed to deal some nasty injuries to the mole mobs that tried to attack her on the way back though, Heathcliff had to admit that. Especially since Sachi seemed to get even more merciless with her swings, targeting a very specific, even more 'vital' positions that would definitely hurt if they were part of a normal person's anatomy... Heathcliff couldn't stop but wince a few times when Sachi dealt a few more, significantly debilitating blows to the poor monsters that tried to attack her.

* * *

..

While waiting for Sachi and her commander to return, for her to *ahem*, speak to them, and not gossip about what had happened, Asuna had amused herself by sneaking out to watch Kirito-kun sleep as well. The boy had such an adorable face, but his sleeping visage was just borderline illegal with how he was mumbling in his sleep like that.

Mustering her courage, Asuna slowly pushed away some strands of hair that had slipped in front of his face and had obscured her view of him.

Kirito-kun really had a handsome and boyish face, one that... was very attractive to her. Just staring at him in such close proximity was making her heartbeat race and her face flushed red when he fidgeted a little in his sleep, mumbling a little too as he rolled over all of a sudden to face the couch.

Asuna was disappointed that she couldn't spend a longer time studying Kirito's face but she kept it in stride even as she settled for sitting on the wooden floor beside the couch where Kirito was resting. Asuna was tired, but for some reason after she settled down to sit as close and long as she could to Kirito-kun, she found the fatigue be driven away from her.

Even as she hugged her own knees as she leaned against the couch to her right, Asuna felt something grow from her heart to warm her entire body even though it was quite cold out. The warmth was something that she hadn't experienced before except for the last time when she had met Kirito-kun. Come to think of it, this feeling would only surface around Kirito-kun... so did that mean that she felt something for Kirito-kun after all?

It wasn't that she wasn't aware of that fact, no, she had noticed how she unconsciously tried to get close to Kirito-kun after all, how she wanted him to look at her, to praise her and for his attention to be on her.

Asuna hadn't thought that she'll fall in love so quickly or so deeply, but well, Kirito-kun was special! There's just some part of him that attracted her to him, and it had nothing to do with how he always tried to be so chivalrous despite knowing full well that she _could_ take care of herself. If Asuna was happy and flattered by his actions, she wasn't showing them for she had her own pride after all.

She was going to be the vice-commander of the Knights of the Blood! It was such an honour to be recognized in that manner. Asuna admitted that she had heard many positive comments about the Knights in general, they were a tight group who levelled together while trying to advance the front-lines as quickly as they could to clear the game faster. It was a noble cause and seeing how a majority of the players in the Knights were forwards, they were putting their lives on the line all the time.

Asuna felt that they were a very honourable and distinguished guild, and that status was also due to their charismatic leader, Heathcliff who personally led his members on every Boss battle since his first debut in the middle of the game.

Asuna totally didn't have a small crush on the leader as well, he's a little too old for her taste... she's totally going into fan-girl mode now, wasn't she?

'… Kirito-kun?'

Even as Asuna recovered from her own fan-girl fantasy, Asuna blinked when she heard Kirito whimpering a little in his sleep even as he shivered on the couch. Kirito was slowly hugging himself, wrapping his arms around himself as he made some more quiet protesting sounds while shivering.

'Kirito-kun...'

Asuna felt bad and sorry for the boy who was obviously having nightmares as she reached out to touch his shoulder. The shivering didn't stop, but Asuna didn't think it would even as she slowly pulled and guided Kirito to rest better on his back again. Asuna leaned over the arm of the couch even as she stared at the sad expression that Kirito was making. Was those tears that were forming at the side of his eyes too?

Asuna's heart went out to the boy and she felt extremely saddened even as she reached out to caress his cheeks and to try and wipe those tears away, actions that made her face burn up when she realized how daring she was being. But it was Kirito-kun! It was him being sad! She didn't want that to happen!

'Kirito-kun...'

But for all that she did, Kirito-kun did not react or even look better, causing Asuna to feel a little more helpless as she settled down to sit beside Kirito before gripping her own two hands tightly in determination. It was something that Asuna's parents had done when she was much younger to help her sleep, and she did the same now, humming a soft lullaby to Kirito-kun even as she rested one hand on his hand.

..

The lullaby that had soothed her when she was a child still soothed her now, and it seemed to have the same effect on Kirito-kun for he stopped shivering soon after she started humming the tune. Her hands warmed too at their close proximity but Asuna fought hard to resist the urge to hold Kirito-kun's hands, that would be inappropriate after all. She was just trying to help him rest better as a comrade! That's right! She shouldn't push too hard or else Kirito-kun would get...

Actually, Asuna wondered what's the harm in being a little forward for a change. If Kirito-kun did find her behavior odd, seeing how she had literally cornered him a few times to ask about how he was doing, he obviously didn't mind! If he did, he would have put up more of a protest, right? Right!

So Asuna should only be rightly worried about the girl that was by Kirito-kun's side, Sachi-san.

She wasn't sure how she should feel towards Sachi-san, she was probably younger than her, at least that was what Asuna judged her looks to be. That was only skin-deep however as Asuna felt something different about Sachi, how she carried herself, how she seemingly ignored her. Could she tag Sachi as arrogant or haughty? Or was she simply confident? Or did she feel nothing for Kirito-kun at all?

Asuna wasn't sure for most of the time, Sachi didn't express much of anything, not even her opinion unless she was asked. Well, she did take a very big role when they were teasing her, so that meant that she still retained a sense of humor.

Or perhaps Sachi simply couldn't resist her cooking, or simply wanted to tease her. So many possibilities that Asuna didn't know how to properly view Sachi. She had tried her best to be friendly and accommodating to the girl, and she returned in kind. When the two of them had retreated to the kitchen to try and prepare food for all of them, Asuna had been pleasantly surprised to have Sachi open up more when they were alone and while they were discussing what to prepare for dinner.

Asuna found that behind the player that had always stood in front of all of them was a very simple girl who truly cherished the quiet moments in the life that they were spending here.

That said, perhaps there was some truth there as well. Sachi seemed to behave differently when they were in a safe-spot, something that Asuna hadn't realized till now. Something had undoubtedly happened to their guild for her to be so tense whenever they weren't in a safe spot, or it could be nerves that made her so tense whenever they were out in the field.

..

'Kirito-kun?'

Asuna had to fight the urge not to jerk away when Kirito mumbled while blinking in his sleep. Wait, people don't blink in their sleep, did they?

'K-Kirito-kun!'

Realizing that he had woken up, Asuna snatched her hand away even as Kirito mumbled while slowly getting up and looking very much confused at what was going on around him.

'E-Ehh... It's... well... Huh...?'

Asuna had to fight the urge to squeal at how adorable Kirito-kun looked with his hair all messed up, some parts sticking up even as a little bit of drool dripped down the side of his mouth. If she thought that all that was still adorable, Asuna had fallen deeply in love indeed even as she blushed while wishing him good night.

'I... Aha... Good night, Kirito-kun?'

Asuna started lamely even as Kirito yawned, showing off his pearly whites even as Asuna hurriedly got up to her feet in response to Kirito righting himself to sit on the couch he was on earlier.

'Mmh...Good night, Asuna... What were you doing?'

As he rubbed his eyes, Asuna tried to think of a good reason that would end up with her holding his hand and being beside her bed but could come up with none.

'Erm... Well...'

'Don't tell me, you couldn't sleep?'

'A-Ahaha... yeah, that's right.. I couldn't sleep so...'

'So you went down to get some fresh air?'

Kirito guessed while smiling tiredly at her. Kirito himself had difficultly sleeping for the first few days after _that_ happened, but it helped when Sachi spent the night with him holding his hands as well. Speaking of which...

'Is Sachi still sleeping?'

'Ah, Sachi-san she...'

Asuna suddenly remembered what had caused her to leave her room earlier on and admitted to him shyly that Sachi had left with Heathcliff earlier on.

'… She... oh gods, Sachi...'

Kirito grimaced before hurriedly getting up and fiddling with his display menu. It was something that he had half-suspected but he'd have thought that Sachi would have at least asked him to go with her, instead she had chosen Heathcliff instead.

Or perhaps Heathcliff had just forced his way in? There's no way to really tell now and Kirito scowled till the door swung open while he finished equipping up as well.

'Ah, Kirito-kun.'

Sachi replied, looking more than a little awkward and surprised when she saw Kirito fully equipped and ready to leave as well.

'Sachi.'

Kirito replied evenly as Heatcliff pushed the suddenly frozen girl into the cabin proper with a sheepish smile of his own.

'It's my fault, Kirito-kun. I volunteered to be her guard before she woke you up. I was interested in how she fought... it was a truly enlightening experience.'

Kirito bit back what he was about to say as Sachi seemingly wilted while nodding at Heathcliff's words. It would be he who was in the wrong if he pursued the matter after this, at least, in front of Heathcliff and Asuna.

'… Were you hurt?'

Instead, Kirito asked in concern even as Sachi blinked before shaking her head.

'Nothing that could be worse, Kirito-kun.'

Sachi's words made Kirito wince just a little, but the moment passed too fast for Asuna to catch it. Heathcliff who had been looking at the two of them at the same time, did and he raised an eyebrow in confusion before turning to look at Asuna instead.

Asuna, who had probably been in the middle of something with Kirito looked at a little lost for words till Heathcliff cleared his throat and asked whether she was about to go with Kirito after all.

'Aha... Yeah, that's it.'

Asuna scratched her head even as she replied, in a decidedly unconvincing manner to him. He dropped it though as it wasn't as important as what he had gleaned from this short alliance with the [Black Cats of the Full Moon].

'It must be nice to be young, to have so much energy so late at night.'

Heathcliff commented with a grin even as Sachi looked as though she was about to protest. But seeing how Kirito was still asking her about what happened, Sachi would probably be unable to rebut him as he continued.

'It's good to be popular, Kirito-kun, it kind of make me jealous.'

'I-It's not like that-'

Heathcliff's careless remark made both Asuna and Sachi flush even as Kirito pointed to himself in confusion before having cold sweat start forming when both girls turned to glare at him for replying in that way.

* * *

**Author's Notes: R&R please! Thank you for your consideration!**


	14. A Brief Summary

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 14— A Brief Summary**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

Argo the _Rat_, member of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] was enjoying the small break that she had been given thanks to Kirito and Sachi deciding to stay to re-map the dungeon that they had inadvertently 'ruined' due to their small mistake.

In truth, she wasn't that serious when she threatened Kirito with no dinner if they had returned without fully mapping the new place. It wasn't uncommon to have dungeons to be fully interactive, and Argo paid a premium to buy the maps from other clearers who would map the place and provide the new coordinates for her to sell off in the open market.

It was an investment that was worth it's weight in goal as there were many new teams that required the information before they entered a previously unknown dungeon.

Information was power after all and Argo did a roaring trade with it, especially since she was able to gain some contacts within the [Knights of the Blood], the [Aincrad Liberation Force] and other clearer guilds that would be more than willing to do business with her.

Not to mention how she was able to use the guild's home-base as a base of operations to finalize information trading deals or to facilitate discussions and plans for her next major scouting mission.

She had even been asked to take charge of a scouting unit by behest of Heathcliff, the leader of the [Knights of the Blood] for the clearing party, something which she was still weighing the pros and cons on. It would no doubt be a very profitable venture, one that would not only help her wealth and information collection but would also be beneficial to the community as a whole if there was one dedicated scouting unit who would be in charge of disseminating information to the players based on what they could find out.

Unfortunately there were a lot of problems with the idea as well, it was infeasible for her to run the operations by herself as even if she _could_ pay contacts to do the job for her, all transactions were handled on the basis of trust after all, Argo seriously doubted that she could broker a deal with enough high levelled individuals to effectively put her in charge in the unit that Heathcliff proposed to set-up.

The players would respect Heathcliff as he was a person that was well known and had contributed greatly to the community and any players that were asked by him to help out would probably do so due to his reputation.

Argo however, didn't have that reputation nor the levels or even the looks to pull that off. There was no way that she'll be able to call the shots and that meant that she'll be nothing but a figurehead even in the best scenario.

She was leaning towards more of polite refusal for that position, especially since she might be held accountable for any deaths that might happen due to scouting of the boss room or in particularly dangerous situations, in which there were just way too many. This was Sword Art Online after all.

And Argo knew why she probably couldn't lead or command respect amongst the players, because she wasn't a _true player_ of SAO. Sure, she was in the same situation as all of the other players, but she was not amongst the few who were putting their lives on the risk to clear the game for everyone.

She was at the front-lines, yes, but she wasn't a clearer. She was just an information dealer, someone who couldn't even give moral support as she was using gold, money, in-game currency to pay for the services that was earned through blood, sweat and tears.

Even if her information did save lives, she single-handedly influenced the entire industry by establishing a code of proper ethics to manage transactions between players within the game itself. Argo's word was worth it's weight in gold, that was what the players who had made deals with her as well as her partners in SAO. It wasn't exactly a guild of sorts, but she was invited and attended guild meetings held by the merchant guild that was formed shortly after her own code was published by the [Black Cat of the Full Moon]. Ordinarily a solo player like Argo wouldn't have any credibility, but thanks to her being part of a guild now, it had the extra effect of adding another layer of accountability for Argo that helped to reinforce the trust that she had build for her loyal clients.

Sachi and Kirito had been very supportive of this new direction that Argo had decided to map out, deeming it a good way to stamp out cheats who were trying to rip off players even in the middle-levels.

Naturally some players had objected to Argo's actions, claiming that she had no right or say to actually try to enforce those rules on all of them. Argo had simply replied that she wasn't trying to force the rules on others.

It was her code of ethics and conduct for doing business exchanges with players, it was other player's choice whether they would wish to follow her example.

Unfortunately seeing how the Merchant Guild, it's members as well as many prominent and popular shops started to adopt Argo's own code, it was only a matter of time before players started to make deals with player shops who followed Argo's example.

Argo had mixed feelings regarding the whole fiasco that had started and ended within a single month, it was a revolution no doubt but to Argo, it just highlighted to her how long players had been ripping people of since the start of the game. On the other hand, she had truly gotten to the top of her chosen field of information gathering, that was something she was very proud of.

..

Back to the topic however, Argo was just a merchant and that meant that she could never seat on the same negotiating table or at least on the same field as the clearers could with each other.

For money was no substitute for the threat on their lives, where losing means death. There was not enough money in the world to buy life after all. Unless she put her own life on the line, she simply could not match what the clearers could place on the table.

That was the harsh realities of SAO after all.

Argo hadn't been idle for the past month since they had started working together as a guild, she had taken part in a few field raids with the two other members of the guild and had levelled up to around the 30s nearing the 40s, but it was still quite a distance from Sachi and a long way back from Kirito.

Still, it provided her with a good chance to finalize her build of a scout. She had pumped almost all of her stat points into agility, meaning she was one of the fastest among players in her own level. Kii-bou was of course faster than her, being much higher in level but Argo still had to push him a little when it came to covering ground stealthily. She was Argo the _Rat_ after all, she sneaking around was what she did best, even if she had the same offensive capability as the animal she represented.

Coincidentally It was also in one of these outings that Argo discovered how broken her two fellow guild-mates were inside. The two of them were, there was no way other way to express it, the two of them were broken. And the only way they could keep going was because the two of them had gotten up together. Argo wasn't sure she could call it romantic, perhaps she could call it that, but it was also twisted to it's core.

Sachi was obviously a broken shell of what she used to be, she obviously lost a lot that day when she lost everything but she had also given up a lot of herself willingly to help Kirito as well.

Innocence aside, which Argo had taken great glee to remind the two of them at some points that the two of them were sleeping together often. At least she didn't have to remind them to keep the noise down, or she was just a heavy sleeper.

Kii-bou himself was also not the person he knew after that day, he was still stupidly brave as always, noble to a fault and was on the surface exactly like how he was before. But like Sachi, there were times where he would fall into an awkward silence, probably dwelling in the terrible, terrible memories of what happened that day. Not to mention how he was perhaps a little more cautious than before, that was to be expected actually... but Argo actually was not shameless to admit how she actually thought Kii-bou was so much _hotter_ when he was acting on his instinct and impulses instead of thinking through his options slowly.

That part of him was lacking, Kii-bou wasn't taking as many chances as he actually used to, that role was instead taken on by Sachi, so at least together they were still themselves.

..

Argo, being an information gatherer, haven't seen people die in front of her. She had seen some from a distance, but to have someone she had a personal bond with die in front of her, she just couldn't imagine it.

That connected Kirito and Sachi, the two of them was able to share in their combined grief as they had gone through the same thing together. So Argo couldn't fault them from being together.

Either way, it was great fun to see how the two of them would squirm uncomfortably even though Argo believed _she_ should be the one feeling uncomfortable at how the two of them were not even officially a couple yet.

Argo would have voiced objections and would be extremely disappointed with Kii-bou for not confessing to Sachi if she wasn't aware of the situation between the two of them. That Sachi wasn't the type to confess, being satisfied if she was with Kii-bou and Kirito being too shy to confess, or just wasn't sure of their relationship in the first place.

Argo herself was just a third party and she simply refused to get involved in this tricky and complicated relationship, plus she had the feeling that all the gold in SAO wouldn't be enough for her to get involved with Kii-bou's relationship problems. She didn't know how how right she would actually be.

* * *

..

'I just can't believe the two of you actually managed to negotiate an alliance with the [Knights of the Blood] and with their commander, Heathcliff-san. That's... actually very impressive, Sachi, Kii-bou!'

Argo repeated to herself even as she looked at her fellow guild-mates, Kirito and Sachi, both of whom shrugged nonchalantly even as Argo rubbed a hand through her own hair in exasperation at how the two of them were not even too concerned about this new development.

So it was actually a good thing, the [Knights of the Blood] was a respectable guild that was probably the top guild in the front-lines and clearers. But being associated with them would cause their own problems as well, for one, a majority of Argo's client actually came from members of the [Knights of the Blood] and it would cause more pressure for her to accept the position of being head of the scouting unit.

The cons actually outweighs the pros, but since it was Sachi, the guild-leader's decision, she couldn't just override her decision, especially since Kirito agreed with Sachi's decision.

'I hope you thought that alliance carefully... the two of you would be invited to join in their raids more often, and- what's wrong?'

Argo's eyes narrowed even as the two of them looked blankly back at her.

'It... really isn't a real alliance... per se, Argo.'

Sachi spoke softly even as she poured herself a drink, even as Kirito nodded his head in agreement, a little too quiet for her liking. It was usually Sachi who was quiet, not Kirito. Was he guilty of something?

'What... is it then?'

Did the two of them sign up for some under-the-table deal? If they did and word got out, she'll be the laughing stock of Aincrad! Argo wasn't even exaggerating at this point for her reputation would be totally destroyed if her own code was violated by her own guild members!

'It's like a personal promise between us and them. You'll see soon tomorrow.'

'Between... them? Who is that 'them'?'

'Heathcliff-san and Asuna-san.'

Sachi elaborated even as Kirito nodded his head again in agreement to Sachi's words, and Argo narrowed her eyes as she tried to coax more out of Sachi when she got a brainwave and commented innocently to the two of them, a mischievous smile on her face.

'So, a double-date? You and Kii-bou, Heathcliff-san with Asuna-san? I'll be the third party! Count me out!'

Argo giggled manically even as Kirito opened his mouth before he closed his slowly as well. Oh, that was odd! Kirito was the densest boy in the world, being unable to figure out what Sachi had for him ages ago. So it was odd for Kirito to actually catch himself when it comes to Argo's unrelenting teasing about the two's relationship. Yes, Argo knew exactly how complicated their relationship was after all. Not that it really took a genius to figure it out.

'It's not like that.'

With Kirito swallowing his own words, and looking extremely relieved that he did so when Sachi remained impassive, Argo raised an eyebrow when Sachi explained that they were just going to have dinner together and that was all.

'An agreement to have dinner together? Seriously?'

Argo could feel that she had raised her voice slightly in response even as Sachi nodded her head before going back to check on her equipment slots. So it was Kirito's turn to speak up instead, giving Argo a smile even as he reassured him that was all.

'Like Sachi said, you'll know when you get there. But till we do, you'll have to keep this a secret, you can do that right, Argo?'

'Eh.. Well, it might cost you...'

Argo tried to begin but was cut short when Sachi cleared her throat and emphasized that they had given their worn on the agreement, as a guild, as a whole, causing Argo to grimace before raising her hands in surrender.

'Right, right... Pride and honor and all that... Honor amongst thieves... I should never have told you that, Sachi.'

Argo joked even as she returned to her paperwork, another request for information that she had to properly document as well as to deliver to a client that was coming by soon.

'Might be a good time to take a break too at any rate. I've heard that the next field-boss raid will take place next week. The new vice-commander of the [Knights of the Blood], Asuna-san would be leading it. At least, that's what was what's agreed on. So you guys will be taking part in it, wouldn't you?'

Argo asked patiently even as the two players nodded their heads in agreement. Argo had expected that and she pulled out her display window before sending Kirito as well as Sachi information on the field boss that she had collected, compiled as well as worked out based on the scouts.

It helped that many of those scouts were on her payroll as well and Argo told them to be careful, for it wasn't going to be a pushover like any of the monsters that Sachi had faced before.

Kirito might have experience, but this would be Sachi's first time dealing with a real boss monster and not a hidden one like how she had been dealing with so far.

..

'Oh, did you get another one, Sachi? Another of those hidden ones.'

Argo asked casually even as Kirito's interest was perked up too, he had been checking his mails for some time but the moment that Argo raised the subject, his eyes swivelled to Sachi.

Taking her time, Sachi raised her eyes from the inventory window before fiddling with it to show the two of them the new accessory that she had picked up from Muok, the Hidden Boss of the Moles.

'Woah that's pretty neat! It's quite a find, Sachi... though it's kind of fragile... Maybe you should give it to Kii-bou instead? He might have a better use for it.'

Argo suggested even as Kirito shrugged and said that it was her drop and it was decision to make. But Kirito was reluctant to accept the trade offer from Sachi when she did pass it on to him.

'You didn't know, Kii-bou? Did you fight this one by yourself again?'

Argo asked crossly even as Sachi shook her head before explaining softly that it was Heathcliff who helped her out with this particular slaying of a hidden boss, causing the two of them to look at her sceptically.

'Sachi, weren't you the one who wanted to keep the requirements of the hidden boss secret? Did he... follow you? Is he a stalker?! Did he force himself to your party?! God I'm totally going to have to skin him alive... Just say the word, and I'll make sure that he never dare show his face in a raid ever again! I'm totally going to make him relive that incident where he'

Argo was just as protective of her guild members as they were to her and even as she started going to increasing hysterics and dramatics, which the two of them knew was just her exaggerating the situation for her own amusement. If Argo was serious, one would be _glad_ to hear her chew you out, the odds of her being able to destroy one's reputation, crede as well as name without one realizing it was more than just possible. Argo had done just that before, systematically bankrupting a player merchant who tried to cheat one of Argo's associates for information.

Yes, the situation then was much more dangerous than this current one, for the information sold then would influence a life-and-death situation, and what made it even worse was how the merchant did not even feel any remorse for risking the lives of the players who had bought his gear and his information about that particular field boss.

It might have killed an entire clearer group if he wasn't careful! So no one blamed Argo when she went all out to tarnish the name of the merchant, firstly by spreading rumours in the grapevine of all the players that had died due to his misinformation, to slowly isolating the merchant by renting and subsequently leaving stores around his empty and barren. To redirect the pedestrian traffic around his area to other areas, hence cutting down on traffic to his shop till he finally realized something was wrong.

By then Argo was ready to openly accuse him of killing several players by hiring players to confront him in public, to destroy any trust he would have with players by approaching them before and after deals were struck between the target and them.

It was a systematic dismantling of the target's whole player life, and Argo accomplished that within a month. Even someone like Heathcliff, or perhaps exactly someone like Heathcliff would have to fear Argo even more.

For the dirt that Argo could dig up on more well known figures would be enormous, making it child's play for Argo to find an avenue of attack against them.

'I wanted to learn from him.'

Sachi's answer made Argo pause in her tirade and for even Kirito to raise an eyebrow as Sachi elaborated.

'Requirements aside, I saw something... weird about Heathcliff-san. His guard is too perfect, he can nullify attacks almost fully.'

Sachi's words made the two more experienced players frown. A 'perfect block' was achieved when a player was able to stop the monster's attack at exactly the right angle and with the same amount of force that it would actually cancel the attack.

Sachi was able to achieve 'perfect block' due to her offensive skills with the shield, which she activated constantly against the more powerful mobs like the Hidden Bosses. As she held her shield on her dominant right hand, as opposed to the left that Heathcliff does, Sachi used her sword just like how Heathcliff would wield his sword, offensively like a weapon.

That balanced things for Sachi, creating a very fine line of offence plus defence altogether in one, even if the damage output from a shield was very slow due to it not possessing any attack value at all, instead relying on it's weight to calculate damage. Since Sachi was in favor of lighter shields due to her build, it wasn't that ideal.

Still, Sachi's shield skills were primarily not to deal damage, they were to deal it's useful effects like stunning as well as disabling of skills or to increase the cool down period of the enemy mobs.

Sachi was able to achieve perfect block due to her skills mostly overriding or overpowering the monster's own skills before they could properly activate, kind of similar how one would stop a fire from getting worse by dumping an excessive load of water when it was small, cutting it off before it could truly be directed to something deadly.

So it was very difficult for Sachi to accept how Heathcliff could so casually execute perfect guards with such alarming proficiency. It was like he was a splitting image of the enemy at times, his shield managing to manoeuvre itself in exactly the right manner despite being held by his weaker hand was simply astounding.

'… And there was that one time...'

That one time where he had snapped backwards to defend a surprise ambush from Muok struck out in Sachi's mind. She had no time to react to it, and even if it would not hurt her that much, since she was still confident of getting her shield up anyway, Heathcliff had still managed to swing his shield to intercept it perfectly.

The reflexes as well as speed of that block was just... impossible really.

'He might have found an auto-guard skill... I wouldn't be surprised if he found something as broken like that... some passive skills are absolutely insane to actually unlock. Remember the martial arts skill?'

Kirito commented even as Argo grinned while scratching her head awkwardly. She still hadn't gotten that skill, but even if she did, she'll never use it, she had promised herself that a long time ago.

'An Auto-block skill.. that would actually be very useful.'

'I'll make a fortune from that alone!'

Argo added her two cents even as the two of them just shrugged, convinced that Sachi had been seeing things. Sachi hadn't though, but even if she felt a little suspicious, there was nothing she could do. Perhaps she was just too tired and was seeing things late at night then?

'But... Heathcliff-san is strong. Stronger than... I thought he would be.'

Sachi admitted with a small nod, causing Argo to blink before she shrugged and say that it was no wonder he was called the 'strongest player in SAO' right now.

'Though Kii-bou is a second runner up, time to show your strength to the clearers again, Kii-bou?'

Argo winked even as Kirito nodded his head confidently while flashing Sachi a reassuring smile as well.

'Don't worry, we'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you.'

'And I too, promise to guard you as your shield.'

Sachi replied in return, causing Argo to just sigh in exasperation while commenting to herself about battle crazy lovesick couples even as she stood up, the two of them returning to their own chores of checking their equipment. But Argo was having none of it.

'Well, time to start on dinner! You're helping, Sachi so let's go!'

* * *

..

'Congratulations, Asuna, I heard all about it! Vice-commander eh? That's really impressive!'

Lisbeth gave her friend a big winning smile even as she got to fixing Asuna's weapon, her personal favorite as well even as Asuna looked on, her face thoughtful with her mind in the clouds.

'Oi, Asuna! Are you listening to me?'

Lisbeth called out again to her friend, this time finally getting her attention as Asuna's head snapped upwards in shock.

'A-Ah, no... Sorry... What did you say again, Lis?'

Asuna smiled apologetically even as Lisbeth chuckled before repeating her own congratulations at Asuna's newfound status.

'That's great, isn't it, Asuna! I'm proud to have a friend like you!'

Asuna smiled back in reply, but she didn't sound too enthusiastic herself as she shook her head in worry, wondering whether Heathcliff was valuing herself too highly to be given that position so soon after she just joined the group.

'I think that people would be upset at me... there are a lot of players who are better than me after all.'

'Nonsense! You're the fastest of them all!'

Lisbeth grinned as she pointed out how Asuna had always been the one who came out unscratched in boss battles as she was just too nimble for the boss monsters to catch her, especially with so many other tempting and easier to hit targets.

'That's just because I wasn't as much of a threat as like, Heathcliff-san or Kirito-kun. The two of them are the strongest after all.'

Asuna replied indignantly even as Lisbeth frowned at the two names, she recognized the first but wasn't sure about the latter.

'Kirito-kun? Who's that?'

'A-Ah, n-no... Well, he's the Beater... the [Black Swordsman].'

Asuna replied hesitantly even as Lisbeth frowned before snapping her fingers in acknowledgement.

'Ahhh... _that_ guy. He's the solo player right! I've seen him once in the field. He was training with another group of players... Wait, that means he isn't a solo now?'

'No he isn't, he joined a guild now.'

One of Lisbeth's eyebrows raised at how casually Asuna was talking about another player, a male player at that. She had to fight off several more persistence suitors of Asuna when the two of them hung out together, her small shop was also a source of refuge for Asuna to avoid some of them as well. And since Lisbeth knew her, Asuna had never shown her interest in other guys at all.

'Mmm... You sure know a lot about this, Kirito-kun, don't you Asuna?'

'We formed a party together recently.'

Asuna replied distractedly, her hands running through her hair even as it was obvious her mind was on other things at the moment. Lisbeth just sighed, finding it both adorable as well as amusing, she'll have fun getting all the details out of her soon!

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for your support as always!**


	15. Towards a New Path

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 15— Towards a New Path**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Cheesy title, I know. Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta edit!**

* * *

..

'We'll pin and hold the field boss back.'

Heathcliff's declaration to the leaders of the clearer group stunned the entire group and left them unable to react to him fully, even his own vice-commander, Asuna, was staring at him as though he was stupid.

The Field Boss of this level as a Behemoth, a purplish four-legged monstrosity that possessed a truly insane attack value stat. That was coupled with it's immense bulk and size, which was a physical representation of it's own innate vitality stat, made it a very imposing monster by itself.

As discussed by Asuna to Kirito a week ago, the monster's strengths did not just stop there, it's repertoire of attacks did not include those of the physical variety, it was able to use magic attacks as well. To be specific, a breath attack that affected a large area, area-effecting knockback effects as well as seemingly a super armour that caused it to not flinch from attacks no matter what the scouts tried.

The difficulty and lethality of the monster came from how it was not confined to a room, and was instead found in the fields of the floor, in one of the more dangerous areas where the amount of mobs and the high spawning rates made it doubly deadly.

The Behemoth would trample all in it's path, and it's cries would draw all the surrounding monsters to its aid to attack the clearer group as well.

With attacks coming from all fronts, it was difficult for a small dedicated group of clearers to make headway into the raid by themselves unlike before, and this was why the current meeting was held, to help draw a plan for all the clearer guild leaders to pitch in to help get rid of the field boss.

Incidentally it was also Asuna's first strategy session where she was taking a commanding role instead of a participating role, the first of many in the future perhaps and the first test that she has to pass as the official vice-commander of the [Knights of the Blood]. It had gone well at the start as Asuna had been right to believe that the main reason for the reluctance for the guilds to work together was that all of them desired the [Last Attack Bonus] from the field boss, that was understandable and thus they had came to a compromise, the assault group that would attack the field boss would have party members from all of the larger Clearer groups and who ever dealt the final blow would get it.

The details of the other clearer groups, those that were tasked to clear the fields and to keep the area safe for all of them had been more difficult, they were in essence, doing the dirty work for the guys who would get all the credit after all. Still, Asuna had been as forceful and decisive in the negotiating table like she was in battle, it helped that Argo, of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] chipped in as well.

..

Asuna was grateful to Argo [The Rat], for her contribution and she found herself warming up to her a lot more than she had earlier. Their friendship had been sparked off by their first dinner together, Asuna had thought that the 'alliance' was just a joke and so she had been woefully unprepared when Heathcliff asked her about dinner a few hours before it was due.

Asuna had of course panicked that she didn't have time to prepare and she had been forced to throw something together based on the ingredients she could raid from Heathcliff and a surprisingly supportive Sachi when she had dropped by the guild house of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon]. Argo had taken to Asuna more than _she_ had to her, as she had found Argo surprisingly hard to understand. She had the temperament and mannerisms of a young girl, with the looks matching but her thought processes were shrewder, perhaps even more intelligent and calculating than anyone she had ever met so far. Even Heathcliff-san was easier to understand than the enigmatic information broker, but Asuna felt that was to be expected, seeing what Argo was selling after all. A young girl like her couldn't have gotten to the top of the mountain without considerable skill.

With someone like that backing her up, and her negotiations had strengthened her case tremendously. That was not even mentioning how it also helped that Argo was reasonably happy and satisfied to be associated with the [Knights of the Blood] officially as well, for they had been invited to the meeting on Heathcliff's insistence.

Any arguments or complaints about their presence was squashed by Heathcliff and the revelation of who exactly Argo was and the role she played in clearer circle. That didn't explain why Sachi and Kirito were here though, but that was revealed when Heathcliff announced that he and Sachi would be the ones to take on the role of the front guard and lurers for the rest of the clearer guilds to attack the Behemoth.

One key problem with the Behemoth was the difficulty in drawing it's attention as well as to keeping it pinned down at a particular location for the players to engage it. All of them had narrowed down a particular spot where it should be taken down, an area where the spawn rate was the lowest in the entire map, the difficulty comes in how to lure the monster there in the first place. That was when Heathcliff volunteered his as well as Sachi's involvement in the field raid.

The sounds of shock, outrage, uncertainty as well as surprise was lost on Asuna as Sachi blinked before nodding her head in acknowledgement. Only Kirito seemed concerned as he asked if he could participate as well.

To his surprise, Heathcliff asked whether he would be comfortable being with Asuna instead as part of the team that was going to take on the Behemoth after the two of them had isolated it.

'The two of you would make the best partners in defeating the boss based on what I observed before, Sachi-san and I would buy the time that all of you need.'

Heathcliff's statement was both diplomatically sound and the way he phrased his request, encompassing everyone and not just the pair that he singled out and won many supporters as many of them agreed. Heathcliff was the strongest shield user so far of course, and if the person that he singled out was recognized by him as strong, there was no reason for them to doubt him. Sword Art Online was a game where life and death was permanent, no one in the right name would risk their lives unnecessarily.

What's more, the young leader that was singled out was in the same guild as the infamous _Beater_ as well as Argo the _Rat, _she must be quite an amazing player to have two very influential players under her leadership.

That was the thoughts that ran through the rest of the guilds even as Asuna looked very uneasily at Sachi, who after the brief start at being singled out, seemed to be fine and accepting of the situation.

'I understand, it shall be done.'

Sachi replied at long last, giving Heathcliff a resigned smile even as she stood up, pushing her chair back and standing beside Heathcliff's side. Following their leader, Kirito offered a worried but nonetheless confident smile to Sachi and then Asuna.

Argo on the other hand was obviously stuck between exasperation and anticipation as she stood up noisily after slapping both hands on the table to signal the end of the meeting.

'Alright! Now that we've decided on the battle plan, let's meet up in half an hour to decide on the final team placement and members!'

Even if Asuna was officially chairing the meeting, Argo the _Rat_ was a much better speaker than her and she simply nodded her assent as she exchanged eye contact with the rest of the guild leaders, who seemed satisfied with the outcome of the meeting as well.

Her first strategy session was a success! Now if the raid goes on without a hitch, Asuna would have passed the first of her many test to show that she was more than able to lead a guild like the [Knights of the Blood].

* * *

..

'What were you thinking.'

Argo was first to speak after everyone had left the meeting room that had been rented by the Knights of the Blood for the meeting, currently the only people in the room was the Black Cats of the Full Moon with the Commander and Vice Commanders of the Knights.

The smaller girl glared at Heathcliff imposingly, the _Rat_ was a trickster by trade, profession as well as in character and to see her angry was something that none of them were prepared for besides Kirito, who looked away to avoid being dragged into the impending explosion of anger from Argo.

Perhaps Kirito had rubbed off Argo, or perhaps she had just taken the role of being the mother-like character of the guild, for she wheeled around to glare at Kirito as well, not letting him off the hook.

'And you, Kii-bou, I thought you'll say something! Sachi is not ready for a boss fight and yet you're fine with her taking on such a dangerous one? Where's your sense of responsibility! You should know that Sachi's level is not even close enough to the boss level to ensure her safety.'

'Argo-san, please do not be mad. I assure you that I have full confidence that Sachi-san is more than able to handle the field boss with me by her side. Kirito-kun agreed with me, hence his quiet approval.'

Heathcliff tried to explain but Argo was not allowing him to have a chance to build his argument further as she slammed her palm on the table despite wincing slightly at the pain she felt.

'Do _not _put words in another's mouth, Heathcliff-san, I'm speaking with Kii-bou right now, I'll speak with you in a bit. Be patient, I'll chew you out soon, I promise.'

Heathcliff look surprised at being dismissed like that and then seemed terribly amused as he tried and failed to hide his amused smile behind a hand that he raised to cover his mouth.

'… Ah, it's true that Sachi's level isn't quite enough to meet up with a field boss at this level.'

Kirito started slowly, his brows furrowing but he never backed down as he raised a hand to forestall the explosion of rage from Argo. The other two girls however, Sachi and Asuna, simply looked on at the interaction of their friends and allies. The former was as calm as ever, and she was even going through her inventory and equipment as if it was the most normal thing in the world. The latter however simply was flitting her attention between the three of them nervously, her hands clasped below her chin as she hoped and prayed that they would not come to blows with each other.

Asuna shouldn't have been worried as Kirito answered Argo by saying that there was no way he could stop Sachi from trying to fight anyway if he was going to take part in the raid.

'I promised to be her sword.'

Kirito spoke softly and hearing that, Sachi continued his line as she looked up from her maintenance to nod at Argo and Kirito.

'And I promised to be his shield. Even if we are not fighting together, but if we are fighting for the same goal, we would be on the same battle field.'

Even if Heathcliff and Asuna seemed confused and a little put off at what the two of them were saying, Argo understood as she gave a long suffering sigh before muttering about battle-crazed lovebirds again under her breath. Asuna managed to hear Argo's mumble even if Heathcliff didn't and she looked a little complicated before squashing the feelings of unease inside her.

'You two are as crazy as always... but...'

Argo turned to look at Sachi, who simply nodded firmly, a grim smile on her face that told Argo what she needed to see. Whatever the unspoken message between the [Black Cats of the Full Moon], it seemed to be something that was already set in stone for Argo turned to look at Heathcliff instead.

Directing her anger, as well as her most angry look at the commander of the [Knights of the Blood], Argo the _Rat_ spoke sternly.

'I'm holding you personally responsible if anything happens to Sachi, Heathcliff-san. No doubt you have worked with Sachi and Kii-bou before, and is accurate with your appraisal of their abilities, and that is one of the reasons that stopped me from objecting the suggestion you made earlier on.'

'And the other reasons, Argo-san? May I know what they are?'

Argo huffed and she even seemed amused as she cocked her said while saying that it was obvious, and she expected that Heathcliff-san should have known as well.

'It would shake the confidence and the standing of the [Knights of the Blood] if the unknown guild that had been specially invited into the clearer group had rejected or had shown signs of weakness in the face of such a challenge. Seeing how that we were indebted to you for allowing us to take part in a meeting together with the biggest guild, we would have no other choice but to accept the request, as well as showing the bonds and ties between the two of our guilds. This was all your plan to ensure that Kii-bou and Sachi-chan would have no choice but to team up with you after this raid, isn't it?'

Argo accused while giving a winning and shrewd smile even as Heathcliff looked surprised before chuckling softly, commenting that Argo was much more than he imagined, just like how Kirito and Sachi were when he first met them.

'The thought of so many impressive individuals teaming up together right below my noses and refusing my attempts to pull them under my wing is frustrating indeed.'

Heathcliff admitted with a chuckle as he walked away from them before turning back and wringing his hands in frustration, probably to exaggerate his own thoughts about this issue even as Argo grinned and giggled wickedly back.

'Too bad! Sachi-chan was the one who brought us together under the same name. We won't join the [Knights of the Blood], and now that I've called your bluff to force us to partner with you, what benefits would we get by being allies, Heathcliff-san? I'm sure that you would want our cooperation instead of forcing us to work with you, won't you? Come, let us finalize this alliance right here and right now! Anything less and we are leaving the negotiation table, it won't be my first time destroying an individual or a group's reputation after all.'

Despite Argo's accusations and her veiled threat back at Heathcliff, she was quite happy actually. Since she was probably going to be nominated as part of the scouting party, or even to take part in the strategy sessions due to her information gathering network, she was rubbing her palms together in anticipation of the rewards she could derive from this new arrangement. Both Sachi and Kirito didn't look too happy themselves at being manipulated like that, the implications of Heathcliff's maneuvering only made known to them after Argo's explanation. This meant that this was a great opportunity, or maybe her _only_ opportunity to milk the [Knights of the Blood] for all that they were worth!

..

Asuna on the other hand, was of two minds about the unfolding situation in front of her, she worriedly looked from Argo and Heathcliff as they stared at each other. On one hand, she agreed with her commander as she found it to be a good thing for by combining their forces together, they would be able to clear the game faster! What's wrong with that?

On the other hand, she didn't like how her commander had apparently thought that it would be best to announce their alliance in a fashion that makes it impossible for them to not agree to it. That was not ethical or right at all! They were not given a chance to properly think about the situation.

..

Heathcliff for his part did not back away from Argo, neither did he take offense from Argo's words or even to feel disappointed that his little ploy has failed. Like before, he was just satisfied and glad that he could meet such incredible individuals as he thought that he'd have seen the best players, both in the game as well as the leaders. There were still hidden and unpolished gems of players still around and the commander of the [Knights of the Blood] found himself surrendering to the inevitable and he chuckled helplessly in the face of Argo the _Rat_'s demands.

What was at stake was the front row ticket to what this small group of incredibly bonded and skilled players would do to Aincrad as a whole. As a player who loved Aincrad more than anyone else in the world, this was just too good an opportunity to pass up and he sat down heavily on the chair in surrender to Argo, who smirked in satisfaction.

Even if she felt that it was perhaps a little too easy for her liking.

Maybe he wanted this to happen in the first place? But negotiations were negotiations, and one couldn't predict the outcome at all. Now to see how much leverage Argo had on the [Knights of the Blood] and how desperate were they to join forces with them.

'Good! That's the way it should be! Sachi, Kii-bou, sit beside me and learn!'

* * *

..

'Are you nervous, Sachi-san?'

Heathcliff asked evenly as he finished his preparations by equipping his newly repaired and maintained shield on his left arm even as Sachi did the same to her shield, only to the right with an impassive nod of her head.

Heathcliff was surprised to see that Sachi was still nervous, the girl beside him resembled a robot when she was in the thick of battle. Sachi's attacks and actions were executed repeatedly without any break in her concentration, focus no matter how many times she executed the same pattern of attack. She simply attacked relentlessly without any complaint.

It was that focus and discipline that was important for a tank, an individual to call a partner and a comrade in a war of attrition. That was why Heathcliff had saw the potential in Sachi, and that was before he heard of her declaration that she would be Kirito's shield. Her devotion might be something that he didn't understand, nor did he feel that he _would_ ever understand.

But he knew that that strength would give Sachi the ability to be a much better a tank than him for she had someone to protect and a goal to work towards to, which was totally different from his own agendas and goals for the [Knights of the Blood] and the rest of his followers.

'It is alright to feel nervous about your first boss raid, Sachi-san, I remember my first time as well. It was... absolutely terrifying.'

Heathcliff chuckled and then coughed when Sachi turned to look at him with a disbelieving expression on her face, guess he had to fix his own poker face before he tried to lie again. Being caught in a lie like this was enough to cause him to turn slightly red as he looked to the side slightly, unable to match Sachi's piercing glare. The glare was similar to the one that Argo had showed him, and to what Kirito had worn when the two of them had returned from that late night hidden-boss raid together. Perhaps it was a requirement for all members of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] to have that glare when they joined the guild?

What a scary thought.

'You should stop lying to us, Heathcliff-san, your official first boss raid was when you made your name of the [Paladin] by holding the boss back by yourself.'

Sachi paused when Heathcliff coughed again, finding his cheeks burning up, and that continued to plague him when a hint of a smile appeared on Sachi's face from amusement, the ends of her mouth twitching before she controlled her expression again.

'I would like to have seen it, the faces of the clearers when a new shield user like Heathcliff-san stopped the boss with your own efforts. It must have been quite a sight.'

The smile that appeared on Sachi's face this time was of respect as she waited patiently for the signal to charge towards the purple beast that was the Behemoth that was currently resting a few hundred metres from them.

They were not yet within the range where the Behemoth would lock onto them and the two of them were quite safe. It didn't mean that they wouldn't be nervous for Sachi was busy fiddling with the regenerative potion in her hands as she waited for the chance to charge forward.

'You will get the chance. For you are following my footsteps without you realizing it, Sachi-san.'

Heathcliff's reply caused Sachi to start and it was her turn to blush when Heathcliff rubbed a hand over Sachi's head even as he smiled dangerously as the PM declaring the start of the raid was sent.

'Let's protect all of them, Sachi-san.'

Heathcliff declared even as Sachi swallowed the regenerative potion before charging forward in tandem with Heathcliff, before she dashed forward faster with the activation of her shield skill.

* * *

..

Watching Sachi and Heathcliff engage the Behemoth from a distance was Argo and she couldn't help but worry even as Sachi was the first to engage, her shield bashing into the nose of the Behemoth even as Heathcliff slashed at it. Argo was too far to see what skills were being activated, but as she was part of the raiding party, she could keep track of the two's HP while the rest of the Clearer parties converged on the Behemoth even as it tried to trample the players in it's bid to not get hemmed in by them.

Unfortunately for the monster and amazingly, the two forwards delivered their share of the bargain and were able to keep the Behemoth pinned in that position as it's attention was focused on the two shield users in front of it.

Sachi was wearing the werewolf pelt that would no doubt be one of Sachi's trademark even as she continued to deliver brutal stabs to the Behemoth along with Heathcliff, she had no idea what kind of damage was actually being dealt, but in the thick of battle, that was enough to raise morale.

Even from the distance, Argo could see that the two of them did complement each other quite nicely. Sachi always stuck close to the Behemoth as she could and with the difference in height, meant that she was too close for the Behemoth to use it's breath attack while she could continue to attack it's limbs and body while it couldn't do anything to strike back. Each attempt by the Behemoth to get away or to even attack Sachi was interrupted by Sachi digging her short sword into the joints of the monster, interrupting it's attack before it could link it to a sword skill of some kind. Even if it tried a few times to sweep Sachi away with it's claws, Heathcliff was there to block the attack or Sachi would guard by herself, knocking her slightly to the side, but never dislodging her from her position. She was, like the namesake that was given to her later, an Iron Steel Wall that refused to budge in front of the boss, impending it's path forward.

Heathcliff favored taking it on a little further due to the angle which he swung his sword. He harassed the head of the Behemoth and in the instances where the Behemoth could actually attack him, it's attacks were easily deflected by Heathcliff's shield without causing _any_ damage to be inflicted on the two of them. Even on the occasions where it would try to use it's breath attack, it would be interrupted by Sachi who would unleash one of her shield skills to temporarily stun it, causing it's attack to fail, stunning monsters even for a second or two was useful for that.

It seemed like the only option for the Behemoth was to turn tail and run to a better position to defend itself, but as a Field Boss, it couldn't do even that due to it's innate desire to attack the players and a war of attrition was formed:

With the Behemoth desperately trying to attack them and failing and the two shield users unable to deal as much damage as they would liked.

..

Argo wondered what would happen if the roles were reversed, would the results be better? She wasn't sure, but seeing that Argo had seen Sachi do the same strategy no matter what she fought, she assumed rightly that it was Heathcliff following Sachi's battle plan in the first place and Argo felt proud that Sachi's experimentation had finally borne fruit so much so that even Heathcliff was forced to acknowledge her superior battle tactics, at least for this field boss.

Sachi's strategy had always been trying to exploit the limitations as well as the rules of the system in SAO, and she had succeeded with Argo's help and input.

The Behemoth was a four-legged beast, which mean that it would have some difficulty if it was engaged in close quarters, seeing that it could only do charging, claw and bite attacks. With the two shield users so close to it, the charge attacks would lose much of their effect as there wasn't enough space for it to build up momentum, and since it was stuck on four limbs, it couldn't retreat or to even break out of this deadlock that easily too, the two forwards could manoeuvre much better than it could. It might have great stats and with a good distribution of those stats made it very intimidating, but if it couldn't use it's skills that effectively, the Field Boss was just a sitting duck waiting to be slaughtered.

It was like what Heathcliff had promised Sachi, that she would definitely follow his footsteps, was that a prophecy that he saw, or was it one that he was determined to help Sachi achieve? Argo wasn't sure, but she was quite sure that she didn't want Sachi to go down that path without knowing what was waiting for her at the end of it.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Heathcliff wringing his hands? That... didn't sound right. Oh well.**


	16. Being Human

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 16— Being Human**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: Ah, my dreaded battle scene that wasn't really much of it. Oh well, I really blow at that.**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta!**

* * *

..

The battle was hard. It was crazy but most importantly to her, Sachi wasn't afraid.

It scared her that she wasn't afraid when she _should_ be so afraid but she shrugged it off when the _next_ crushing blow came her way, her dominant hand with the shield raised to take the attack.

They were doing well, she was doing well, and the Behemoth was slowly being dismantled in front of their eyes. Sachi would not feel any remorse or pity for the purple beast in front of her, it was trying to _kill_ them, so she was responding in turn.

They were killing _it_, turnabout is fair play after all and Sachi's eyes narrowed when the block she executed wasn't perfect and she was pushed back a few feet by it's claw attack. If the Behemoth was able to rear back to charge at them, she would be sent flying, perfect block or not.

'[Shield Bash].'

Sachi started the movement of her shield skill and she charged forward, her shield faintly glowing blue before smashing the shield right at it's chest, causing the Behemoth to howl in frustration as the side-effect of the skill, a 5-second stun, took effect.

[Shield Bash] was the one of the most useful skill out of all the offensive shield skills Sachi had unlocked and it was also one of the most convenient.

With her sinking most her skill points into the [HP-Regeneration], [Guard], [Medium Metal Equipment], [Light Shield Equipment] and [Shield Mastery], she was unable to move as fast as her counterparts, especially since her build was beefier than most, with HP being a priority followed by Dexterity and a smudge of Attack.

This meant that she was dealing a pathetic amount of damage, but at the same time, she was a master at a war of attrition. Not to mention that Sachi had her own ways of dealing damage through the judicious use of Poison and debilitating skills that inflicted damage through time.

For example the sword skill [Tetanus Cut], which would inflict a status that would deal damage to the monsters over time at a steady rate. It was unlocked through the combination of the skills [Poison Mastery] and [One Handed Sword Equipment], allowing Sachi to deal damage slowly over time.

With the promise of not backing down from battle as the shield of her party, Sachi was doing very well indeed for throughout the entire battle, she had stuck close to the Behemoth, even pressing it backwards slightly as it tried to get a better position by retreating.

* * *

..

'[Linear]!'

It was a mantra that Asuna used to keep herself calm as she struck at the back of the Behemoth, drawing a red and angry looking gash even before she leapt back to allow Kirito to deliver his own vertical slash at the exact same spot. His strike was so precise that it did not strike beyond the initial mark that Asuna had done on the purple monster.

The two of them were the only sub-party with the two of them together, and it reminded her of the time that the two of them took part in the first raid of the First Level Boss.

It seemed like such a long time ago, and perhaps it was, but right now, Asuna felt like time has rewound itself, leaving the two of them like how they were before.

There were still silly mistakes that Kirito had to pull Asuna out of, especially when the Behemoth reared up to attack through a shockwave around it, and times where Asuna had been the one to pull him out of an attack coming from it swinging it's horns at the two of them when it was facing them head on.

Even with just the two of them, they were dealing the most damage due to their team work, the [switching] technique might be the most common and rudimentary way that players worked together but it was also the most underrated. When two player's style were different and yet radically complemented each other, it was almost unrivalled in terms of damage dealing and safety.

'It's getting close to the last quarter, Asuna.'

Kirito replied calmly even as they allowed another group of four players to take their position even as they circled around to attack the Behemoth again.

Even if the Behemoth was surrounded by more than twenty players including the two of them, it was still tough going. It was definitely something that _they_ wasn't supposed to take on in this manner as the numbers were sheer overkill at this point.

Twenty players, and it was taking them near to half an hour to dwindle down it's HP? This was ridiculous, and this was a _field-boss, _they weren't even engaging the real Boss of the level yet!

Was this a sign of what future battles would be like? Of crazy attrition and drawn out battle-lines? If so, Asuna didn't feel too comfortable about that for her build would not last.

Yes, she was too fast for the Behemoth to target her individually but her attacks and damage per second rate left a lot to be desired. She almost never got hit and she never missed, but she just couldn't do as much damage as Kirito-kun.

Not that she was comparing, Kirito-kun's style was different. A one-handed, no shield build that allowed him to be faster than most players who used one-handed weapons. It wasn't a katana either, a dual edged blade that meant that his attacks could come at any corner unlike a katana who one could predict through the angle of the sword-swing.

It was a style that Asuna had never seen anyone use before, even if her own was something that she developed over the time she was in SAO.

'This is worrying, I don't think everyone could keep up the pace for much longer.'

Asuna answered even as Kirito nodded his head in agreement, the two of them were the only few who hadn't taken some kind of damage at this point in the long-dragged out battle.

They couldn't blame the commander as well as Sachi-san for that, the two of them were fulfilling their duties of keeping and hemming the beast so that they could actually _attack_ it, which was a big leap from how the Behemoth would keep fleeing from them, or just unleash devastation on the scouts who were trying to get information from it.

Asuna _knew_ that it was probably due to how they aren't approaching it in the right fashion, the sad thing was that even if she knew that, she could do _nothing_ about it.

It was probably due to some activation quest or some sort that should depower the beast, or at least make it actively engage them instead of trying to flee or just randomly rampage around.

'Argo is working on it... You should have told us about your suspicions earlier, Asuna.'

Kirito berated her even as she blushed and apologized again.

'No harm done just yet... but if the last quarter powers it up, we might have to retreat. It'll be up to you to call the retreat, Asuna.'

Kirito replied calmly even as he leapt forward to slash at the beast after it stopped another one of it's random rampages, leaving a large gash that Asuna repeatedly jabbed to deal more damage to it.

Bit by bit, the HP bar of the Behemoth was depleted. But it was just so slow that it was worrying and made many of the players impatient.

'But... I might not know when.'

Asuna admitted in the mid of battle, a sign of weakness perhaps but she was being truthful and Asuna prided herself on that. She might not be as charismatic as the commander or perhaps Argo, but she will never hide the details, wait that sounded like Argo too! That was why she was more than a little ticked off with the commander for forcing the alliance between the two guilds.

'… When you feel that something is wrong, it's too late.'

Kirito deadpanned, a different expression appearing in his eyes that made Asuna lower her gaze for a moment before leaping back as a claw came close to swiping at her. One hit and she would be in the red zone, that much was sure.

She had heard of what had happened to the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] from Argo, and not the two of them due to their close relationship. It was still too hard for them to talk about the whole story, but Argo said it was important for the her to know if she didn't want to step on any of the landmines.

_'Information is power, but even if you have it and doesn't use it, it's also dead-weight. But most important of all, knowing how, and when to use or to hide information that one knows. You need to know this, Asuna, that's why I'm telling you this.'_

That was what Argo had told Asuna and it was a sign of trust from her that Asuna cherished. Perhaps she had her own agenda, that was as expected of Argo, but if it would allow her to continue this relationship with the three of them, so be it.

'So... when is the right time?'

'I don't know...'

Kirito answered evenly while taking Asuna's place as she delivered another slash onto it's side, this time the Behemoth didn't react and Kirito mercilessly continued the combo on it even as Asuna whirled to the side to watch for a retaliation from the beast.

'Then how am I supposed to know, Kirito-kun...'

'You'll know when. At least, that's what I thought...'

Kirito paused for a moment, the split second over so fast that Asuna almost missed, but the mournful smile on his face made her heart ache.

'If Kirito-kun believes in me, then I'll know. For I don't want Kirito-kun to die because of me.'

Asuna's reply caused Kirito to hesitate again, his sword hand twitching even as Asuna pulled him back just in case the beast rampaged again in front of them. It was odd, how all the sounds of battle was muted when Kirito whispered his thanks even as the beast turned red, a sure sign that something changed.

* * *

..

'Okaaay... so I was a little late in asking for this, but can't I get a cut for this? I mean... When we clear this level I'll pay you back in a map or something. Okay? Great! Gotta go now, time's a wasting. You know time is money after all!'

Argo chuckled before ending the conversation, the moment she did however her eyes narrowed as she swore to herself and the small entourage of support staff for the larger clearer team.

'Shit.'

That was an understatement and Argo felt for the first time uncertainty when the Behemoth turned red in color, similar to how Sachi had described that the hidden-boss, Muok, did. It was most likely a Berserk status that she had seen happen in some of the mini-bosses that has been recorded before.

'It doubles the strength and speed stat, halves the defense and increases HP regeneration with Superarmour. Seriously, that Kayaba Akihiko has a sick sense of humor.'

Argo bit her lip while the other clearers around her looked nervous at her summary of what they have to face. So all of them were unprepared when Argo shook her head and said that it wouldn't stand a chance against Asuna and Kirito.

'Berserk also halves it's hit rate and doesn't allow them to use skills. Asuna and Kii-bou will tear it apart. I'm sure Heathcliff-san won't find it too much trouble as well... Sachi though. Well, information is power at any rate... We've activated the quest for us to face the boss for real.'

Argo grinned as all the clearers suddenly received a notification about a new quest titled: 'Slaying of a Horned Legend', no doubt referencing the Behemoth in front of them.

'The difference between an overworld monster and a quest monster is huge after all. Right now, it just doesn't stand a chance'

Argo crossed her arms even as she watched as the Behemoth's HP bar simply deteriorated even quicker than ever before with all of the benefits of a Berserk stats, it was clear that it was a totally different beast.

'Game, set, match. Time to get cracking on the actual Field Boss of the level.'

* * *

..

'Congratulations on defeating the Behemoth!'

Argo suggested a toast even as the five members of the [DACC] or the Defend Asuna's Cooking Club, gathered for it's weekly dinner together. They hadn't told Asuna of what he [DACC] stood for, Argo was waiting for the right opportunity to break the news _gently_ to her.

Oh who was she kidding, she was forbidden to break the news to her, one of the others would in due time of course.

Not that they would _really_ do it, they didn't want Asuna to poison them during dinner. Even if she _might_ make it the best last dinner they ever had.

'Congratulations.'

'It was quite a struggle till the end, wasn't it, Sachi-san?'

'Weren't you a bit late though, Argo? I thought you would be faster than that.'

'Wait, so Argo really went to look into a sub-quest for the field boss?'

As the members started their own conversations after the toast, Argo found herself staring at the weird social circle that she had found herself in, not that she minded, seeing her friends socialize was a good thing.

But it was also sad how all of them were talking about _work_, that was, being a clearer.

'That's it. We're going on holiday starting tomorrow.'

The sudden suggestion wasn't enough to cause the four of them to _stop_ discussing the fight and Argo up the stakes by saying that she'll personally sponsor it for all of them.

It'll hurt her wallets, but a short holiday near the beach was something that would actually bring them _away_ from the battlegrounds, it'll be a good thing instead to take their minds of clearing monsters for a change.

'It wouldn't set a good example for the Commander and the Vice-commander to both leave on a vacation at the same time. I was hoping for one, but if Asuna-san was to come with us, it'll defeat the purpose for giving her the appointment in the first place.'

Asuna narrowed her eyes as Heathcliff chuckled, Argo felt the same way but she grinned as Asuna started poking Heathcliff with her finger.

'If Commander is trying to pawn all his duties away to me, I will personally make sure that you will be tied to the commander's table.'

'Oh, is this a sign of mutiny again, Asuna-san? I'm shocked that you would do that to your commander.'

Argo noted that despite his hard-ass attitude towards most of the other guild leaders, as well as the members of the [Knights of the Blood]. Heathcliff looked and felt fatherly when dealing with all of them. Even her, which she was a little unsure how to feel about right now.

Even if Argo didn't really express or show it externally, she did look up to Heathcliff as an individual at the top of SAO with both his skills, leadership as well as tactics. He was an all-rounder when it came to management, leading as well as his recruiting and selecting players to join his [Guild]. Unlike the [Army] who recruited anyone who wanted to, Heathcliff picked only the best and for him to pay so much personal attention on all of them was quite flattering.

Argo knew that it wasn't due to the food, it was just an excuse for the three of them to join them as he could excuse himself from these gatherings by himself.

Heathcliff was interested in all of them, as for what, Argo didn't quite know, nor was she fully comfortable with it.

But it was _Heathcliff_, it should be fine since he had the clearers at heart.

..

'That joke got old the last three times you used it, Heathcliff.'

Argo deadpanned even as Sachi smiled and nodded, just barely though as Heathcliff looked offended before he turned over to Kirito for backup.

'Kirito-kun, the girls are all gathering to rise against me. Surely, you would give me assistance in this matter? It is a matter of life and death for a commander, when a commander loses the respect of their followers. He is not fit to be one.'

Heathcliff started pompously but deflated when Kirito simply rebutted him by saying that if he had time to deliver that speech to him, he should have given it to Asuna and the girls instead.

'That is indeed true, now then my vice-commander-'

* * *

..

'But we should go on a holiday.'

Asuna announced as all of them finished clearing the table of all the dishes. It was quite a feast, something that Asuna dreaded but enjoyed nonetheless when she saw the happy expressions on all of her friends faces.

Yes, friends, it was odd to say the commander was a friend, especially when she spent most of her time interacting and being with the other members of the guild, or with the [Black Cats of the Full Moon]. That was to be expected of course, the roles of the vice-commander and the commander were very different, and all she hoped for was that she was helping the guild in ways that Heathcliff wanted.

That was, to assist and help the clearers get stronger, get better and to help clear the game as fast as it was possible.

It didn't help that the guild had very little girls, she was the only girl in the top command and it had been hard to actually cement her position as the Vice-commander as many thought she was just a figurehead or some girl that the commander took interest in.

All that changed when Argo suggested that she show them up in a duel or two.

It worked, at least for a while at least as she earned another reputation, of a ruthless task-mistress that should be feared.

That reputation hurt, and the solution to that was to have _another _public demonstration, this time with both Sachi and her.

Asuna felt bad for dragging Sachi into it, she really was, but after seeing how Sachi effectively dismantled anyone who even challenged her brutally, she felt bad for the members of her guild for trying to belittle her.

It actually was Argo's idea to have Sachi cement her reputation as a hard-ass fighter was important as she was the guild leader of a guild that was linked to the [Knights of the Blood] while Asuna needed to have a better reputation than being a _girl _chosen by the commander.

Kirito hadn't mind and most disturbingly, Sachi seemed more than willing to test her skills with the shield users in her guild.

Sachi had also proceeded to take on _every_ single member who used a shield in the [Knights of the Blood], with Asuna trying her best not to wince at how she won every battle with attrition alone.

Argo only needed to comment that there was the chance that the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] might join the [Knights of the Blood] before Asuna was welcomed, revered and supported within the guild.

It also helped to take heat of Kirito, the legend of the **Black Swordsman** wasn't quite diminished while the legend of the **Iron Devil** grew in earnest. It was also strangely ironic that Sachi barely wore any armour made of iron, she was a medium armour user after all.

'It'll be nice to get away from it all for a while. Two to three days maybe? The scouts will take around that time to find the boss after all.'

Argo chipped in while Sachi just continued maintaining her equipment, taking extra care to polish her shield as she frowned at a nick in it.

'Well, I'm sure that no harm will come to the guild if we go out on a training session with our allies.'

Heathcliff commented while struggling with some paperwork in the main office of the [Knights of the Blood]. Figures he was trying to get out of paperwork.

'We _would_ have to do some training though.'

Kirito offered his part even as he read the [Aincrad Times], a tabloid that Argo had personally invested in for they had some pretty good scouts and leads for new quests, dungeons and reported about them quite frequently.

Money makes the world go round after all, and if a small investment could pay dividends in an information gold mine, why not?

It also made Argo able to regulate and verify the information before it was published to actually lessen the risks for the players.

The fact that Argo could multi-task with just her navigation window while Heathcliff had to actually write down notes showed that Argo was still _better_ at paperwork than Heathcliff would ever be.

..

'Teamwork training.'

Argo quipped even as Sachi nodded, looking over to Kirito before turning to look at Asuna instead.

'I would like to train my team work with Asuna.'

Sachi volunteered even as Asuna thought and nodded back.

'That'll be nice! We girls should stick together.'

'Then I get Kii-bou!'

Argo raised her hand before Heathcliff could say anything and she stuck her tongue out by saying that since Heathcliff wasn't able to find a partner, he could mind the office.

'That is mutiny!'

Heathcliff protested in good humor even as the others laughed at his reaction, the older man looking quite amused even as he scratched his head.

'Two to three days... huh. Perhaps it _would_be best if I stay behind...'

'It would not.'

Everyone blinked when Sachi spoke so loudly enough to be called a shout, at least for Sachi at least as she placed her shield down.

'You are skilled, Heathcliff-san. More so than all of us. You can be our sparring partner, to allow us to get better.'

Sachi paused before she tilted her head and said that it would also help the guild to function without the two commanders.

'The two of you are overworked after all.'

Argo's chuckles made everyone turn to look at her even as she slapped her hands together and rubbed them in glee.

'Well, if even Sachi realized it, I guess you two don't have a choice. We all need one, really. Enough fighting and warring and all that... For a while, let's just take a break! Let some of you guys take a break too! Everyone fought so hard, that thing was just overpowered... if we can take care of that, the Boss Monster would be a piece of cake.'

Argo grinned even as Sachi nodded her head, even smiling while Kirito shook his head while agreeing with them.

Asuna was a little doubtful, but she agreed. It had been a tough few weeks after all.

Heathcliff on the other hand, was still frozen before he chuckled and agreed.

'A few days then...'

* * *

**Author's Notes: Thank you for your support so far! **


	17. An Escape

_**Shield And Swords **_

_**Chapter 17— An Escape**_

..

**Original Title: **_**Sword Art Online**_(ソードアート・オンライン)

**Original Concept by: Kawahara Reki**

**written by: wrathie**

* * *

**Author's Notes: So about a month ago I said that this story won't break the 20 chapter story mark.**

**I lied. Well, my muse lied, so... it has expanded further than I imagined it to be.**

**Thank you, ****_bowpurity_**** for the beta edit!**

* * *

..

Kirito swallowed nervously as he tried to keep his presence from being detected. It had been _ages_ since he wasn't confident in himself and what he was doing, actually no, that was a lie. He hadn't been fully confident of his own skills since _that_ incident happened. But this was the first time in _ages_ that he knew that whatever he was doing was simply delaying the inevitable. There was no escaping it.

He wouldn't have done the deed if he knew what was going to happen to him afterwards, but just thinking about the reward, the slice of heaven that he had been able to obtain made him decide that no matter what happened... He would do the same in a heartbeat, even if he was going to pay for it. Oh yes, he was going to pay for it if his enemy had her way with him.

But it was worth it, it was so definitely worth it.

Kirito froze upon hearing the sound of rustling grass coming from near him and he swallowed nervously while listening closely to the direction where it had came from.

Curses, had he been found out so quickly? He had sunk so much experience into his _hiding_ skill! There was no way he could be found out so easily!

'…'

Beating his own panic down, Kirito lifted his foot before moving stealthily to another position, perhaps one that would be a little more fortified against his enemy. His only regret was abandoning his comrade in arms when the deed was discovered, but he would rather _die_ alone than allow them to die with him due to his moment of weakness!

'I know you're there, Kii-bou. Come out, or else...'

The voice of Argo drifted over even as Kirito steeled himself for whatever Argo was planning in case he didn't get away even as he crouched down to a running position and counted down. He wasn't going to give up without a fight!

'I won't make it hurt, _much_.'

Argo's voice started again, trying to persuade him to surrender but all it achieved was for him to feel a shiver running down his back even as he counted down inside his head.

'Now!'

Kirito thought to himself before he dashed forward, putting and sinking all his energy into his feet to put as much distance between him and Argo. He was fleeing for his life here and Kirito burst through the undergrowth noisily even as Argo gave a yelp of surprise.

'There he is! Get him, Asuna!'

So she did win Asuna over to her side after all?! This was bad, she was probably faster than him on flat ground. Thankfully however, there was still sufficient cover for Kirito to outrun the startled Asuna as he dashed past her, throwing caution to the wind in his bid to gain his freedom from the two relentless girls.

'You'll pay for stealing my sandwich, Kii-bou! You can't run away forever!'

Argo shook her fist angrily and defiantly at the disappearing form of Kirito even as Asuna sighed while placing a hand on her hip. Like Argo, she was dressed in a swim suit as they watched Kirito running off into the forest bordering the beach in only his briefs and nothing else.

'Do you think he'll be fine? What if he doesn't have time to equip his weapons if he got into trouble?'

Asuna asked worriedly even as Argo waved her hands dismissively at her. Asuna had to sigh at that, Argo was still bitter even after Asuna made another sandwich. It was exactly the same as the one Kirito had stole from her and she was still going to punish him for giving in to his stomach. It was her fault, she hadn't expected Kirito to have such a big appetite after all.

'Nah, Kii-bou won't die till after I punish him. I'll make sure of it.'

Not for the first time, Asuna felt a shiver run down her back as Argo rubbed her hands together while cackling in sadistic delight.

'G-Good for you, Argo...'

Asuna managed to reply nervously even as she played with her fingers nervously, and here she was hoping that they could spend more time together as in, _together._ Not running away from each other...

'Well, we better go and visit the other two before they spend the entire holiday, not being on holiday.'

Argo called out, breaking Asuna out of her own monologue before she gasped out loud at the implication of Argo's words.

'W-Wait, you're being mean to Kirito-kun! You weren't really going to chase him at all, were you?'

Asuna was both scandalized as well as impressed by Argo's gambit and method of punishing Kirito and was about to say more when she saw the sad look in Argo's eyes. One that even her mischievous grin couldn't quite hide.

'They'll punish themselves more than I could ever do to them. The two of them are too hard on themselves.'

* * *

..

Heathcliff felt the same way as he found himself in a duel with Sachi. It was actually quite normal, after she demolished the entire group of shield users in the [Knights of the Blood] and found them lacking against him, he had been her only constant dueling partner. The only difference now from the norm was how Sachi was also dressed only in a swimsuit, for some reason a high school swimsuit with her name displayed predominantly on her chest area. Heathcliff tried hard not to pay attention to that part, and how it jiggled slightly when Sachi ducked low to provide _maybe_ a glance down the swimsuit.

He was also very painfully aware that Sachi paid none of the same attention on him or her own body for after she ducked the half-hearted slash from Heathcliff, she charged forward to slam her shield against him forcefully.

The small build up wasn't really enough to topple Heathcliff normally, but since the two of them were sparring on a sandy beach, it was enough to cause Heathcliff to stumble and subsequently fall down flat on the beach.

Splayed out on his back, Heathcliff found himself staring at the end of a very familiar edge while Sachi looked down expressionlessly on top of him. Literally so as she didn't even move or react to a position that would have caused others to blush or to hastily excuse themselves. It was obvious he lost, but she was still waiting for the verbal confirmation for it. Heathcliff wasn't sure if that was a sign of mistrust or a sign of respect for him.

'I yield.'

Heathcliff dropped his own weapons in surrender, there was no way he could find a way out of that situation as he knew that Sachi was brutally efficient in attacking when she found an advantage, she just _wouldn't_ quit attacking until the moment of opportunity was over. Heathcliff really didn't want to spend time recovering from injuries when he could be relaxing more.

'Ara, are we disturbing the two of you?'

Heathcliff was able to stop himself from physically reacting too much, he only raised one eyebrow in surprise at Argo's teasing voice while inwardly he winced a little.

'I thought the two of you would be gone longer. Did you catch Kirito-kun?'

'Ohhh~ I'm sorry for cutting short the time the two of you could have each other, Sachi. But he got away actually.'

Argo's teasing voice continued while Heathcliff just sighed again while deciding to ignore Argo for the sake of his sanity and his holiday. That said, Sachi was still on top of him too... no how to break that news delicately.

'Sachi-kun, I yield, you can get off me now.'

Sachi actually blinked for a few seconds before she nodded and got up stiffly, her hands still holding on to the sword firmly before she sat down, planting her knees on the sand before dropping her sword before looking towards Argo curiously. Unless he was mistaken, Heathcliff was wrong to say that Sachi had been expressionless earlier. Her face was actually a little flushed and her eyes were wondering a little even as she panted slightly.

'Will you keep looking for Kirito-kun?'

'Nope, he's trying his best to hide out there somewhere and the weather's too good to really _really_ go look for him, don't you think so too, Heathcliff-san?'

..

Argo positively beamed even as she joined the two of them, frowning at Sachi as she refused to keep her equipment unequipped even at the end of that death-glare. Argo was trying hard to get Sachi to relax, she and Asuna had done wonders for Kirito after all, the boy was enjoying the food that Asuna was preparing happily. Sachi on the other hand was simply venting her frustration out through combat, again.

Oh, she knew what was going on alright between the three of them. One would have to be blind to not miss that. She just didn't want to meddle in the matter as _she_ could get burned. Heathcliff, god bless that big softie, had already gotten himself into quite a pickle just because he tried to help.

It wasn't the first time that Sachi had shown those signs of jealousy. Argo was sure that Sachi herself knew what was going on herself, if she didn't, she would... well, she really didn't know what to say.

The two of them _were_ going out together, right?

Right. Argo hoped that by telling herself that, it would be true. For she wasn't sure exactly _what_ Sachi would do if something happened to break the unique and interdependent relationship the two of them had with each other. They relied on each other, they were to some extent, living for each other's benefit. If something changed between them, it would be dangerous.

'Are you alright, commander? You look beat. And Sachi, you look... a little red.'

Asuna asked carefully as she strolled up to. While she smiled at her commander, Asuna also offered him a hand to pull him to a sitting position even as Sachi said that she didn't hurt him at all.

'He's still the best shield us-'

Before Sachi could go into further details, Argo had dropped a towel over her head, startling her a little even as Argo nudged her with her toe while looking out at the expanse of blue behind Sachi.

'Less work and more play, Sachi. You wouldn't be getting any time to have a break after this. We're going to take on the boss after all. We need _you_ and Heathcliff-san to be your best. So stop getting him all worked up and sweaty by yourself and Heathcliff-san.'

Argo practically cackled when Asuna turned red, Heathcliff looked scandalized before chuckling weakly. Sachi though, raised one eyebrow before she replied after a long pause, her face looking strangely red even as Argo waited for a reply.

'You are welcome to join us, Argo.'

Argo's jaw dropped when Sachi actually smiled teasingly when she said that, it was almost enough for her to splutter in disbelief. Almost, as Argo was pointing one finger at her pointedly before she recovered herself.

'Oh hell, the sun's finally got to you, Sachi? Or did I fry your brain earlier...'

'Sun...? What... Sun?'

Sachi tilted her head in confusion even as her eyes spun a little, causing Asuna to gasp in surprise as the younger girl suddenly toppled over onto the sand.

'S-Sachi! Sachi!'

'How long _have_ the two of you been sparring in this hot weather anyway?!'

Argo shrieked as she joined Asuna in pulling Sachi into the shade. Heathcliff, for his part, looked just as shocked before he scratched his head sheepishly.

'Too short for her... but apparently too long...'

Heathcliff winced when something bounced off his forehead, courtesy of Argo even as they started fanning the quickly deteriorating Sachi.

* * *

..

'Honestly, this isn't much of a holiday at all.'

Argo groaned as she and Heathcliff watch the sun set on the tranquil beach. So they had to take out the crab monsters that started spawning hourly before they could get this break, but it was worth it, right?

Even being super optimistic couldn't save this trip from being quite a disaster. At least Argo was sure that Kirito _might _be having fun from how he was being bandaged by Asuna, who was trying hard not to blush at being able to do that to Kirito. Then again, it might be due to the sandwich that he was munching on. Sachi on the other hand was still trying to recover from her heatstroke and the irony that Sachi could be fell by the heat was not lost on Argo. So if they ever needed to take down Sachi, they would have to go with a battle of attrition in the hot sun.

Which really doesn't make sense since she _should_ feel the effect of heat more dressed in her wolf pelt and all and not in her swimsuit. Perhaps she just wasn't hydrated enough? Oh wait, potions does count as liquids, huh?

'No, it isn't. But it is still a chance for us to wind down a bit, to celebrate our victory over the Behemoth, is it not?'

Heathcliff asked while pouring Argo another drink from a pitcher, which she absentmindedly checked whether it was really a _potion_ of some sort before downing it in one gulp. The fruity flavor of the drink hinted that it was juice, probably mixed with some other liquid, mostly like really a potion to get quite a kick from it. Since Sachi was the one who prepared it, the possibility was definitely there.

Even if there _was_ alcohol being served and sold over the counter if they wanted some, Argo doubted that they needed or wanted a hangover right now on the first of their three day break.

'Damn right we are, we'll be working flat out after the break is over. I don't even want to start thinking about the work that is piling up now.'

Argo hissed with annoyance when Heathcliff shrugged while finishing his cup of drink as well.

'Paperwork, it's a necessary evil. And here I thought I could avoid it when I played a VRMMORPG.'

Heathcliff chuckled while Argo nodded in distraction before she asked.

'So how old are you really, Heathcliff-san?'

'…'

Argo looked up to see Heathcliff raising an eyebrow incredulously at her, almost as if saying: _'You __**know**__that I won't ever trust you with that, right?'_

So he had a point with that, but _even_ so, it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

'So... Guessing time! Let's see...'

Argo stared at Heathcliff while mentally sizing the man up. He was definitely not in the 20s, if he was, Argo would be surprised at how aged he looked for he looked around his early 30s if she had to make a guess. There were people who just naturally look old, probably due to genes and those that look unnaturally young. Whatever the case was, Heathcliff like Kirito, had turned out looking surprising well even after Kayaba Akihiko made sure they looked exactly like themselves after the first day.

Now Argo wasn't one to judge based on looks, she didn't look like the most trustworthy individual herself, but she admitted that after a while, eye-candy was of course, eye-candy.

Even if there were stuff like make-up, wigs and perhaps accessories that one could use to accessorize and change one's appearance available on the market, the clearers were mostly stuck with their natural and normal appearance in the thick of battle. So it was quite rare to see pretty boys in the front lines, one could call Argo bias but she knew that those players were exactly those kinds who wouldn't want to risk their pretty looks and body in a death game. Even if intellectually they _should_ know that no matter what happens, nothing would happen to those precious looks of theirs. However those that had the looks and were still in the clearer group were very strong and powerful. The two prime examples were Kirito and Heathcliff, even if the latter was much older than Kirito.

'I guess Heathcliff you're thirty, am I right?'

Argo guessed without expecting Heathcliff to really answer her, naturally Heathcliff did so by shrugging and saying that he was a little older than that.

'Ohh... potential blackmail material! Now, are you married?'

'Are _you_ asking or are you hinting, Argo?'

Heathcliff countered back easily before Argo batted her eyes while pressing her hands against her chest. She was a little self conscious that she didn't fill out more of the swimsuit like how Sachi and Asuna did. The two of them weren't exactly off the charts, just modestly endowed while Argo... was Argo, nuff said.

'Ohh~ Direct aren't you, Heathcliff? I suppose we can work out a co-payment plan while planning our marriage together? How about an interest-free plan for the first 3 years? Hmm...?'

Argo teased even as she leaned closer to the older man who was lounging on the seat beside him. Not that Argo felt that it would work, but she still tried her best to look alluring even as Heathcliff started looking suddenly very unnerved. Whether it was due to her actions or how she was still putting money first, Argo couldn't really tell.

Not that she really wanted Heathcliff to really fall heels over heels in love with her, even if it _might_ be good that way, but she digressed _again_. Perhaps the stress was really getting to her, or was she having too much fun messing with Heathcliff that she had gone slightly off her rocker as well?

..

'Stop teasing the commander, Argo.'

Asuna interrupted them all even as she smiled to comfort Heathcliff, who looked more than a little relieved that she had pulled Argo off his case.

Argo, for her part, pouted cutely at Asuna in response, shaking both her hands in a pleading fashion below her chin even as she wriggled her body as well. With her normally messy blonde hair tied up behind her along with her smaller build and size, Argo actually looked more than a fair bit adorable, especially when she was wearing a swimsuit.

'Stop, just stop. No, really, please, stop.'

Asuna repeated slowly with a hint of frustration on her voice. Heathcliff and Argo were both surprised that Asuna could get so easily annoyed and they looked up briefly before sighing and smiling in exasperation. Asuna was talking to Kirito, who looked torn between replying while munching on the sandwich that he was still holding in his hands. If Argo knew that Kirito could be bought over with cooking, she'd have made sure that Sachi and her would do all they could to max out their cooking skills as fast as possible.

It was unimaginable before, but there was a real threat of Kirito being bought over just by the food itself. What a scary thought. Once one tasted a slice of heaven, going back to taste life on earth was a huge blow. Argo just hoped that Kirito wouldn't, really, consider that... right?

'Hmm...'

Argo twitched when Heathcliff started rubbing his chin while making speculative noises despite how a twitch started to form a little above Argo's right eye. Was Heathcliff a mind reader or something? Granted, he could probably read her just as easily as she did to him so there really wasn't a surprise there.

If he was going to take advantage of that weakness of Kirito to lure him over, Argo will systematically dismantle the [Knights of the Blood].

'Don't even think about it, Heathcliff. I'm warning you.'

It was Heathcliff's turn to give an innocent expression as he declare that he didn't know what she was talking about. Well played, Heathcliff, well played. The innocent act needed work though.

* * *

..

'Good evening sleepy head.'

Argo commented as Sachi turned to greet her with a nod. The leader of the [Black Cats of the Full Moon] sat up suddenly just when the sun was setting, causing all of them to start a bit. But since Sachi settled down just as quickly as she had woken up, they had returned to enjoying watching the sunset in the picturesque scene in front of them.

Naturally, with their luck and Murphy's Law, it was also around the time when the monsters started to spawn in the area.

Heathcliff raised an eyebrow in surprise at how Argo was playing around with a dagger of her own, preparing for battle even as Kirito started to pull his sword out from his inventory as well.

Not to be outdone, Heathcliff paused before pulling his spare shield and sword and proceeded to equip them as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he was relieved to see that Sachi wasn't pushing herself too much and was not following their example.

She still looked a little dazed, her eyes not as focused as he was used to seeing. But it was really something for another time.

'Switch. I'll work with Asuna, Kii-bou could you work with Heathcliff this time? No fighting to get all our attention alright? This is a battle.'

Argo suggested while wearing another impish smile even as she winked at the two guys on the team. Asuna on the other hand blushed a little as she equipped her rapier, raising it to the normal height even as Kirito paused before looking to the side awkwardly.

'Duly noted.'

Unlike Kirito however, Heathcliff had started to build up an immunity to Argo's teasing as he dryly retorted while raising his shield even as Kirito charged forward as well, leaping to defend Sachi's position even as the remaining girl slowly backed away from the danger zone.

'I'll watch your back, Kirito-kun. I'll switch on your command.'

Heathcliff suggested, deciding to test Kirito's leadership skills even as he started drawing in the mobs by hacking and retreating backwards. The monsters of this particular level were giant crabs that had higher defense stats but unfortunately were not given that much HP to work with. So no matter how strong their shell were, or how powerful their pincers were, they were just sitting ducks with their abysmal speed stat with low HP values. The only redeeming value, or perhaps the only reason they could be called a threat was the volume in which they all spawned. They spawned in the tens at one go, and right now there were at least 40 of them crawling up the beach slowly as Heathcliff watched them.

However he was sure that it wouldn't really take long to clear the field, for they had Kirito and the sword that he was wielding glinted in the evening sun before it slashed forward, scoring hits even as Kirito started his assault on their numbers.

* * *

**Author's Notes: If readers have not read: 'Zero Art Online', it's really good. Just saying. **


End file.
